Duel Monsters Maximum: Dragoon Island Tournament
by Nanashi The Silver Fox
Summary: A dangerous entity starts a tournament in an attempt to claim the power of dangerous seals. Can two inexperienced duelist stop his claim to power? Find out now! Read and Review.
1. Chores on Tourney Day

**Duel Monsters Maximum: Dragoon Island Tournament Saga**

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize, which should be all of them, at least in this chapter.

A/N: Hello, I am Nanashi Minimino, creator of Duel Monsters Maximum. Now this story has its own set of dueling rules that aren't too unique, but unique enough that you should know. First off, tributes will be none for level four or lower monsters, 1 for level five or six monsters, 2 for level seven or eight, and 3 tributes for monsters level nine or higher. Second, while the rules for normal, field, continuous and ritual magic cards are the same (you can only activate them on your turn) trap cards do not require a one turn set first. Third, monsters may be summoned in attack or defense mode, but flip effects are still flip effects (they still require the monster being flipped). This next rule is really a reinforcement kind of thing, since most people I duel don't seem to know, you can activate quickplay magic cards from your hand. Well, that's about it for the rule changes! Now go on and read, and don't forget to drop your opinion off in a review, I'll be looking forward to it! Bye!

* * *

_Chapter 1: Chores on Tourney day_

Shisei Aragashi was never late. He prided himself in the fact that he was always early, especially when there was something important to him on the line, and today was the big day. Tournament day. And today, was one of the days he would be late.

Shisei himself was a modest 5' 6'' boy who had dirty blond hair and a skinny figure. He wore glasses that, he himself, thought to be a bit of a fashion statement. The glasses covered his blue eye color slightly. Now he wore the traditional Japanese school uniform with his black laptop case with the laptop in it on his back. A dueling deck holder was clearly visible on his form, the brown back of the duel monster cards able to be seen through the clear red of it.

'Where are you Kou, damn, I was hoping that I could get to the tournament, whoop the other duelist with my best friend Kouichi Nandao watching and cheering for me, and then get home without any huge scenes or anything… I guess I was dreaming.'" he sighed as he looked at the intersection of the back alley Tokyo street.

"KOU! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. Turning towards the other boy's house, the blond stomped straight through the streets to meet up with his best friend.

* * *

Kouichi Nandao was focused on the sword in front of him, as he swung his blade swifter and swifter, he made sure to miss the bamboo that most would think he was aiming at. The boy stabbed the air straight above the bamboo… Or that was his intention any way, unfortunately, the loud yell of a young man that the boy knew yelled and made him lower his stab motion, so it hit straight through the large slab of wood.

Kouichi was a strong, muscular, 6'0'' boy who could when the hearts of many women if he tried, he had the beautiful violet eyes that women would fall for. But most thought him weird. He had a nice blue hair color and… oddly enough, large canine teeth that stuck a little way beyond his bottom lip (Another turn off for women).

The yell that was heard by the blue haired boy was coming from a certain blond…

"KOUICHI NANDAO, YOU STOOD ME UP!" Shisei, a very angry blond strode up on the street and glared at the dumbfounded boy by said name. "What, were you just going to leave me hanging! Huh!" he continued his onslaught on the boy with a few very unflattering words to the ear.

"Ummm… Sei, what in the world are you so angry about, did I do something wrong?" Kou questioned the other boy nervously. This caused Sei to twitch in annoyance.

'The nerve of him, how dare he just completely forget about me and the tournament!"' Shisei thought to himself. "Yeah you did something wrong, you idiot!" he said, though this time in a considerably calmer voice.  
"Like what?" Kou asked his angry best friend. He was obviously completely oblivious to the fact that he was supposed to meet the other boy at all.

Sighing, Shisei decided to go over it slowly. "Okay, you know I play a card game that's very popular, right?" he questioned. It wasn't that Kou was a complete idiot, he just wasn't very considerate.

"Yeah, I think I remember hearing you say something about that." he nodded his head as the memory flowed back to him. He sat down on the stairs of his house and leaned on the blade he still carried. The blade was one of distinct pride to the boy. He was proud that he was the best swordfighter that the world would ever see (at least in his own opinion, and he hoped Sei's). It was a shiny silver and long and thin, but only slightly curved at it's end. The hilt of the blade had a dragon with exactly 7 heads and was blue.

" Okay, so basically, last week, I said I would go see the sword fighting tourney, and you said you'd see the Duel Monsters tournament." Shisei paused in his speech to take a breather. After taking a deep breath, he continued. "With me so far?" he questioned, with Kou, you always had to ask things like this.

"Oh! Right, that was supposed to be…. OH MY GOD!" he looked at Shisei incredulously, as it dawned on him. Shisei nodded to let him know he was right about his assumption on the blond boy's anger earlier. "I have to do Ginta's laundry!" Kou finished, as he got up off the stairs.

"Well, Sei, it was nice talking to you but I have to go," he was up and going toward the door, and then he turned back with a valiant look on his face. "I must depart, dear friend, lest I lose my honor! So fare well!" and with that he ran up the wall, onto the roof of his own everyday Japanese house and flipped around out of sight.

Poor Shisei just stared incredulously at the roof of the house, where his best friend had been moments before. Then snapping himself out of it, he ran in the direction of the blue haired boy, straight to the Laundromat.

* * *

Shisei arrived in time to see Kou arguing with a bunch of old ladies. "Pleeeaaaasee! I really need to get my clothes done now!" he begged, giving way to the argument that Shisei had walked in on.

"Well, well, well, look how low you can get to do that snob Ginta a favor, yet you won't even remember my only request!" Shisei looked down at Kou in disgust. Then he sighed d at the look of question in Kou's eyes and helped the boy up. The old women, who were still watching thought this adorable.

Shisei twitched at that and sighed once again. "Come on, let's find an empty spot and use that." he said to Kou.

"Sound's good to me!" Kou smiled and began to twist his head around to look for a spot. "HEY! There's one over there!" Kou rushed straight toward the spot, trying to reach it before he someone else… To late, a boy began to unload his clothes in the machine just as he reached it.

With flames in his eyes, Kou glared down at the boy. " Just what do you think your doing, kid!" Kou continued to glare down at the child, who just looked up at him dumbly. "What do you mean, I'm about to wash my clothes. Geez, what is you problem!" the boy rolled his eyes as Kou began to twitch uncontrollably.

"Kou, just let the kid have this one, we'll wait until another one clears up, okay!" Sei asked his best friend as he put a hand on his shoulder to soothe the annoyance of the boy.

"But you don't understand Sei!" Kou started. "I have to get them done today, " he made the valiant face and his voice immediately deepened, "lest I lose my honor!" his face went back to normal, as well as his voice. "So we have to get the clothes done… NOW!" Turning back to the boy, he said. "So what's it gonna be, either you give me that machine, or I take it from you!" he threatened. The child didn't seem afraid at all.

"Okay, so we'll decide it in a duel! Deal?" he questioned, removing his deck from a deck holder that was attached to his belt.

"A what?" Kou asked. Shisei slammed a hand against a his forehead, still unable to believe that Kou couldn't remember one of the most important games around nowadays. He then just sighed and took out his laptop case. Opening it, he began to remove the spare duel monsters cards he carried everywhere from it, as well as his laptop. I may have sounded cruel, but Shisei was going to use the laptop to record and play the duel over and over again, to get revenge on Kou for forgetting his own duel.

"A duel, you know, with duel monster cards?" the boy rolled his eyes again at how oblivious Kou was. Then when Kou still didn't know, the boy sighed and told him to forget it when…

"No, he'll accept, after all, he needs the washer, he make his deck from some of my spares." Shisei insisted. He smiled evilly as Kou took the cards.

"I may have never heard of this game, but I won't lose any challenge." he stated. He began to look through the cards, selecting the "pretty" ones. Meanwhile, the boy began to look cute and get a table with his cuteness from the old women. "I don't know any thing about the game, but I will not let you beat me, kid, and hey, since you even like the little cards, I'll throw in a card of mine." he said. Shisei looked up abruptly from setting up the camera with a look of fear in his eyes.

"WHAT!" he asked. After all, it wasn't everyday that his friend missed his tournament and decided to bet a card from the game that he didn't know anything about, and a card that wasn't his as well.

"You don't mind, do you Sei?" Kou questioned and without waiting for a response, he jumped up with his deck of "pretty cards and got ready for the duel.

" Okay, we'll duel with 8000 life points, considering only top duelist like Yugi Moto and Joey (Jono) Wheeler duel with the 4000." they shuffled the decks, Kou just did so because he knew that in card games, you usually shuffle your cards.

"I'll go first." the boy stated, he began to draw his five as Kou stared, completely lost on how to start the game. The boy, though, had just got a nice combo and he was anxious to try it out, so he didn't see the blue haired boy's lost look. He drew the sixth card and looked to see that the other boy did nothing. "What in the world are you waiting for, draw your five card hand." he yelled at Kou.

"Okay, okay, I told you I don't have the slightest clue how to play this weird looking game." he responded, drawing five cards. After he drew, he was lost again. So he decided to ask Shisei. "Hey Sei, how do you, umm… Win?" he asked his friend, hopeful in the fact that Shisei would help him.

"HEY!" the boy yelled angrily as Sei jumped at the chance to help him. He wanted to annoy Kou with his loss , but not at the cost of one of his precious cards. "No backseat dueling, or I'll automatically win the card of my choice from this loser's deck." he finished. 'Man this is gonna be easy, this idiot doesn't even know how to duel"' the kid thought evilly. He smirked and began his move.

"Okay, I'll play 2 cards face down in the magic and trap card zone." he set the cards down on the table that they had managed to secure from the old hags. "Then I'll set this card in my monster card zone." he set yet another card down on his side of the playing field. "Your move, oh to tell the type of card, look at the borders." he stated. "Normal monster cards are yellow bordered, magic (spell) cards are green, and the purple cards are traps." he smiled, happy in the fact that he hadn't even mentioned how to activate the cards or play them.

"So the card zones are… what exactly?" Kou questioned. The boy sighed and got ready to explain again.

"Basically, the Magic and Trap card zones are for the green and purple bordered cards. And that is the zone closest to you." he stated, motioning to the other boy's magic and trap area. "And the monster card zone is right above that, you can set or summon a monster." he continued, confident that no matter how much information he gave Kou, he would remain completely lost. "Continuing, a set monster is in defense mode, regardless of what you want, and a summoned monster can be played in attack or defense mode." he finished.

"Okay, now I know what to do, I… summon Axe Raider (1700/1150)." unsure of how to put the card, he copied the other boy's movement, and put it in face up defense position. "Go." he responded. Sei slapped a hand against his forehead as he saw the combo.

'He has Ceasefire, Chosen One, Zoa, and Big Bang Shot, that could have been and instant LP reduction unless something foiled it.'" he sighed and continued to watch the duel, though he no longer felt like tape recording it.

The boy smiled at how easy this was. "Okay, now I'm going to tan your hide, amateur" he emphasized the word to annoy Kou. "I draw first." he took a card from the top of his deck and put it in his hand. "Ooh, now your in for it!' he smiled mischievously as he slapped a magic card down on the table. "This magic card is called fissure, it has the ability to instantly destroy the weakest monster on the opponent's field," he smiled proudly at his speech, only to twitch in annoyance when Kou looked at him with a stupid expression. "in other words, you lose that card." he stabbed his finger down n the card in great annoyance and slid it in front of Kou's deck.

"Hey, where are you putting that, in my deck?" Kou asked, completely oblivious to the card graveyard.

The boy sighed as he realized he needed to do some more explaining. "No your graveyard." he knew that Kou would be lost, but he still wished he wouldn't. "Okay, let me explain." he started. "In Duel Monsters, each player has a graveyard, a deck, a field and a hand that's all their own." he began to think of how best to explain it and then he went on." Okay, so the deck and graveyard's are limitless, but you have to have at least a forty card deck. With me?" he questioned. For once, Kou was actually listening, this shocked Sei and the boy. "Now then, the hands that each player has, can be used to increase their chances of winning, by either getting a monster summoned, destroyed, or removed from play. They can do other things too, but this is about a destroyed monster, like Axe Raider." he took a deep breathe and continued. "When a magic or trap card is played, it goes to the graveyard, unless it has an infinite, or continuous symbol on it. When a monster battles and loses because of a magic or trap effect or because of another monster killing it, it goes to the graveyard." he once again took a breath. "So that is where I put your monster, got it?" he finished.

Kou had somehow managed to take all that in. "Okay, now is it my move?" he asked the young boy.

"No way! Now my Giant Soldier of Stone will directly attack your LP, but before that, I will use reinforcements to increase its attack by 500 points (1800/2000) for…" the kid paused, he could be honest and say one turn, but then he would lose his edgeways. "the rest of the match." he smiled evilly at his little trick. Shisei looked up at the cheater and glared at him as he began damage calculation.

Kou-6200 Boy-8000

Once the kid had finished with his calculations on the paper they were using to take score, he ended his turn.

"Okay, so now, I guess I'll draw." Kou took a card from his deck's top and added it to his hand. ' Okay, those numbers at the bottom must be attack, but now they both have 500 extra attack points, how am I supposed to beat that?'" Kou thought to himself, he wanted to win this duel to impress Sei but now he was out of options. "I'll play, umm this in facedown defense position." he set the card. "End turn"

"Alright, I'll set a magic/trap facedown, and attack with Giant Soldier of stone (1800/2000)!" Kou flipped his card over to reveal Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200).

"Alright, now I get a card, right?" he reread the card and turned to Shisei, who nodded in approval of a slightly improved move. "So I'll take this baby and shuffle the deck." Sei made sure it had the right description (defense of 1500 or less) and let Kou add it to his hand he smirked, proud that Sei had given him a look of approval for a change.

"Alright, go." the kid said. 'Hmm so he read the card, better end this before he gets into the real hard stuff area, I still don't know how to do chains."' the boy looked at his hand and knew exactly how to slow his opponent's roll.

"Well now that's good." Kou said after he drew his next card. "Alright, now I'll summon, Zoa (2600/1900) in attack mo-" he was cut short by the child duelist's protest's.

"Hey, you have to tribute, send to the graveyard of your own free will, 2 monsters to summon that thing." he looked at the monster that was on the card and instantly knew that that was the card he wanted when he won. "Hey, I'll take that card, when I win, I mean." he smiled at Shisei's outraged look.

"Deal, and I'll take a card if I win, one that I like, I mean." he winked at Sei, which only made Shisei feel worse. "Anyways, if I can't play that monster, then this'll have to do." he set a card facedown in the monster card zone.

"This duel is over. I'll play Change of Heart" he slid the Magic card down and grabbed the only monster on his opponent's field. "Ooh, well what do you know, the might Beta the Magnet Warrior(1700/1600), okay, I'll obliterate you with your own monster." He laughed and called his attack. "Now then, both of the monster shall directly attack your life points!"

Kou-2700

Boy-8000

"Ouch, that hurt." Kou looked nervously at the cards in his hands and began to try think of any way out of this.

"I'm not even done yet," the boy stated matter of factly. "now I'll sacrifice our monsters to summon my rarest and most powerful card." he paused, most likely for dramatic effect. "The mighty Sword hunter (2450/1700) and his attack increases when he destroys one of your monsters. So I wouldn't play one." he laughed again, and set down another magic card. "Now I'll play my quick attack magic card, it allows be to attack right now!" he called his attack and subtracted the damage.

Kou-250

Boy-8000

Kou stared incredulously at just how bad he was losing. ' Oh well, at least now I know for sure what's attack and defense."' he thought. 'Not like it helps though."' he sighed and drew. "My turn, and…" he looked at the card like it was a holy savior. "Alright, I'll set a monster, two magic or traps and end my turn." he sighed. ' If I win this, it'll be a miracle.

Shisei looked at Kou and his sparkling violet eyes in amazement. 'His resolve has changed completely… He's really trying to win!"' he thought in silence.

"Okey-dokey, my move, set this." the boy drew and set a magic/trap card. "And destroy your feeble monster." He smiled, only to frown as Kou activated his two face down cards. "Not so fast!" Kou yelled, the entire Laundromat jumped, he then covered his mouth and whispered: "Not so fast!" as he flipped the cards. "First off I play Ceasefire, flipping all facedown monsters face up, and you lose 500 life points for each effect monster, which is 2." he smiled at his move and watched the boy subtract 1000 from his own life point score.

"Oh well, I still destroyed your monster!" the boy smiled at his accomplishment, then paled as he saw the next card that was played by the new duelist.

"That's right, you forgot about my other card didn't you, well I feel sorry for you, because now you lose a monster and another 100 life points, because The Reliable Guardian adds 700 defense points to my monster! And since my face down monster was Wall of illusion (1000/2550), your attack doesn't hurt it, and if I remember right, Sei told me you lose LP when your monster is too weak." he smirked as he saw the wide open attack. The boy glowered as he adjusted the scores and said something about kids getting to big for their britches.

Kou-250

Boy-6900

"Go" the child spat at Kou. Sei breathed a sigh of relief, somehow, Kou had managed to shift the duel to the kid being on the defensive. But the three facedown card were what really worried the blond duelist. 'Come on Kou, don't let me down"' he thought, determined not to speak and make the boy lose the duel.

"Alright, now I dra-" he was cut off as he saw an activated trap, Time Seal. "Okay, now I don't draw. But I can still equip my creature with Big Bang Shot and have it direct attack. So go, Wall of Illusion (1400/1850), direct attack him!" he smirked at the kid and ended his turn after his direct attack.

Kou-250

Boy-5400

"That was pointless, you aren't going to win, so just stop trying." the boy drew he frowned at the card, but set it any ways. ' I will not lose to this amateur, I don't care how young I am!"' he thought fiercely determined to prove his worth. "Make your move, and don't forget that I have three set cards, anyone of them could deal you enough damage to win the game for me." he smirked, he was bluffing big time, but he had no other choice at the moment.

Kou drew. ' Hmm, let's see if luck is on my side."' he thought. "Now I play the card that has the potential to end this duel, Chosen One!" he said enthusiastically. He slapped the card down on the table and then got two of the other cards in his hand to use. "Now you choose a card that I selected from my hand, if the card is a monster, I special summon it, and if it is a magic/trap, I discard both of your options." he smiled and rubbed his hands together eagerly. "So, feeling lucky today!" he set the cards down and prayed that it would work.

The boy, praying for the exact opposite thing, chose the card on his right. "That one." he flipped it to reveal…

"Summon, Zoa (2600/1900), in attack mode, unless you got some trap." he smirked, knowing the answer and then activated the next card of the duel. "Now, activate Monster Reborn, to revive my Beta (1700/1600), then I'll sacrifice Wall of Illusion, to summon Total Defense Shogun (1550/2500), in attack mode. But when he's summoned, excluding special summon, he's switched to defense mode and he can attack in this mode!" he smiled triumphantly.

"Why did you have to do that, you could have won without completely humiliating me by summoning that thing!" the boy said, he looked down sadly.

"I'm not trying to show off, its just… Well this is my favorite card, so I want to end the duel with it on the field." Kou smiled. "Now, my monster's direct attack." he smiled as the boy realized the duel had been a friendly endeavor to Kou.

Kou-250

Boy-0

"FINALLY! I thought I would never get to talk again!" Sei burst out. Then he noticed that the choice of cards to take by the winner of the duel was being made… or had already been made. "HEY! Kou, what did ya' get?" Sei questioned eagerly. Then he twitched as he saw the Sword Hunter card in Kou's hand. Twitching, Sei slapped him on the forehead. "You idiot, that card sucks!" he moaned at all the good cards he could have gotten.

"Yeah, its not as good as some others, but I wanted him to have it, because that, as my favorite card, won't let him forget that he will always have at least one friend." the boy said and looked up at Kou, he flashed the thumbs up, and then left.

"Well now, I bet you thought I'd lose, didn't you? Admit it!" Kou laughed at Sei's annoyed face, and added the card he'd just received to his deck.

"Let's just wash the clothes, okay?" Sei asked his friend.

"Yeah, I lost a dare, so I have to do all of Ginta's chores , or else eat cow poop." he laughed and put a hand behind his head. "So … OH NOOOOOOOOO!" Kou yelled , just realizing the mistake he made.

"What?" Sei asked.

Kou turned slowly toward the boy, twitching in annoyance as his head turned. "I forgot to bring the clothes."

And the only thing that was heard was a loud punch and someone being called an idiot.

* * *

**Next Time on Duel Monsters Maximum**: Getting nearly killed in a car accident may seem shocking enough, but Kou takes his daring even farther by challenging a champion duelist after nearly being run over. Will hewin the strange encounter? Find out next time on Duel Monsters Maximum!


	2. The Invite and the Mystery of Osmos

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. 

_Chapter 2: The Invite and the Mystery of Osmos_

Kouichi Nandao sat, bored, in his math class. He was so bored, his mind had been drifting off. The latest of his reminiscences was of how he had learned a new combo from Sei in duel monsters. 'Yeah, I can't wait to use that combo!"' he thought of the exact cards that he wished he could play in a duel. 'Unfortunately, Sei always whoops me before I get any of the cards I need to cream him!"' he sighed as he thought back to Sei's latest win, with a combination of Monster Reborn, Magic Cylinder, Change of Heart, and Swords of Revealing Light he had obliterated the boy in 4 turns. "ARRGH! I even got my Sword Hunter onto the field too!" he jumped up and yelled out to no one. He was given a detention at the end of the class.

* * *

"I can't believe I got a detention, I mean come on, who doesn't talk in class, right Sei?" Kou questioned his best friend after the class had ended.

"I don't talk, actually." Shisei said, smiling nervously. He had, after the great victory that Kou pulled out of his hat, put his anger at him for the missed tourney behind him. And now he just enjoyed handing Kou his butt in a duel. "So don't go on talking about how you shouldn't have been written up." Sei said as the last bell rang and the two walked out of the doors, and down the sidewalk of the main school street. "Hey, want to come over to my house for a while, you can help me organize my deck." Sei asked as he turned toward his house.

"Yeah, no doubt, and you may not want to let me see your deck." Kou said smirking. He wouldn't want an unfair advantage. " I mean, I don't know what's in your deck except for about 10 cards." he thought back and began to name the cards that he had seen. He switched around and began to walk backwards toward Sei's house. Big mistake.

"KOU, WATCH OUT!" Sei yelled, seeing the danger and ducking and rolling forward out of its way.

SREECHHH! A car, the threat that Shisei tried to warn the other boy about came to a halt just before hitting the him. "WHAT THE F DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING KID!" the driver of the vehicle, which was a limousine, got out of the car and yelled at the young Swordsman.

Kou, who looked like a deer caught in headlights, began to slowly climb to his feet, as he had fallen over when the car roared up right next to him. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I promise I shall do whatever I can to make this up to you." he started, almost as though it was an automatic reaction. "Please forgive me for…" Kou began to think of the mistake that he had just made, luckily, he was spared from making one up, as the passenger of the limo stepped out.

"Now now Siegel," the figure said, as he stepped within full view of the two confused boys. " I think that you should be a little bit calmer, after all, we weren't the ones in danger of being hit by a car." the man smiled at the boys with an expression of extreme calm and control.

The man that had stepped out of the limo was tall and silver haired, with a pony tail that reached his back. Approximately 6'2'', and he wore a business suit that made him look older than he actually was. His chauffer was a big burly man with black hair in a laid back fashion, and he also had blue eyes. His height was approx. 6'5" or more.

"So now, you must be Shisei." the man that had stepped out of the limo said, he looked at the blond boy with a smile on his face. He then held up his hand to silence the question that Kou began. "No, I don't need to explain how I know your name, unless of course," he reached into the limo and removed two duel disks from the seat inside. "you care to challenge me in a duel monster's match?" he questioned, then he tossed the disk to the other boy, already knowing the answer. Or at least he thought he did.

"I'll duel you!" Kou yelled, jumping and intercepting the duel disk. "Got that, you owe me an apology for nearly running me over anyways, so come on." Kou slipped his deck into the deck slot. After his duel with the boy a while ago, he decided to watch some of the other duelists around the world duel, such as Yugi Moto, and that helped him to learn the more complicated areas of the game, and he also picked up to how to use a duel disk. And now, eager to duel against anyone, he turned on the disks, and the holo projectors flew out and landed on the side lines as his opponent did the same.

"Oh well, I suppose the sooner I get to show Mr. Aragashi my skills, the sooner I get to do what I came here for." he drew and the LP scores were set.

Kou-8000

Man-8000

"Now lets begin, you go first as I challenged you." he said after drawing his fifth card.

"Okay, then I'll summon Axe Raider (1700/1150), in attack mode!" he roared as he slid the card into the first free monster slot. "Whoa, these are nice." Kou said as he saw the beautifully rendered monster version of an Axe Raider. "Now I'll set these two cards face down, and end my turn.

"Alright, now I draw." the man said as he got ready for his attack. "Now, summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200)in attack mode as well as Pot of Greed!" he declared. "That lets me draw two cards!" he slipped the cards off of his deck and smiled. "Next comes Dark designator, so I get to name one card, if you have it in your deck, you take it from there." the man continued.

"Woah, you're actually helping me?" Kou couldn't believe it, his opponent was going to give him a card.

"Now the card name I declare is… Axe of Despair!" the man shouted out the name in full confidence that his opponent had the equip magic card in his deck.

"Okay, I have no idea why you would want to give me such a card but…" Kou slid the card from his disk and shuffled the deck. "Anything else to help me?" Kou questioned.

"Actually, there might be, first I'll set three cards and activate the magic of Exchange!" he smiled evilly as he gave his opponent the Summoned Skull (2500/1200) in his hand, and then he took the Axe of Despair card. "Since that went off without a hitch, you must have known that exchange makes us give each other a card from our hands." he smiled and then slid the last card into his duel disk. "Now, you must know what's coming next, I'll equip my monster with the Axe of Despair that I took from your hand, and then attack your much weaker monster. Go Vorse Raider (2900/1200) attack his Axe Raider (1700/1150)!" he smiled again and then watched as the LP score of his opponent was dropped.

Kou-6800

Man-8000

"Okay, my turn, and I'll draw!" Kou slid a card from his deck and frowned. 'Not even my Big Shield Guardna (100/2600) can withstand an attack from that, and even if it could, It would be switched into attack mode afterwards anyways."' he sighed as he thought this." Okay, I'll set this monster face down in defense, and that's it for me." he smiled, trying to act like he had a chance to turn the duel around.

"You're a fool boy, you should know that you have to be an expert to even stand a chance at beating me." he laughed almost maniacally as he drew his card. "Alright, now I'll play another Pot of Greed." he slid the card into his graveyard after its activation. Then, drawing two cards, he began to smile. "Okay, now I'll summon, Gradius (1200/800)! In attack mode!" he smiled as the monster jet appeared on his own field. "Now, Gradius, attack his defense!" the man yelled.

"Hold on!" Kou pressed a button on his duel disk and a facedown card flipped itself. "Now I activate, a quick play magic card, The Reliable Guardian, which will increase the defense of a monster by 700 points!" Kou smiled, he was gonna lose a lot of LP, but at least he got some damage of his own off of his opponent. "Now my Big Shield Guardna shall make you lose 2100 LP!" Kou yelled happily at the decrease in his opponent's life points. "Now my Big Shield is in attack mode (100) so you can make me lose major, which I know you will, so just attack." Kou cried out, almost in frustration that he was on the defense again so soon.

"My, aren't you perceptive, well now I will in fact attack, and I'll activate two reinforcements-" he was cut off by the activation of another trap.

"Unfortunately for you, I activate the trap card, Trap Jammer!" he yelled as the card flipped. "Now I'll discard this card from my hand to make you lose your Reinforcements trap!" he let the trap do its stuff, foiling one of the man's reinforcements.

"No matter, the other Reinforcements still gives my monster 3400 attack total!" the more experienced duelist roared with happiness. "So you lose 3300 LP and your useless monster." he said.

Kou-3500

Man-5900

"You know, you seriously need to get a life!" Kou yelled as he drew his card. Taking a quick glance at it, he did a double take and smirked. "Okay, now I play the magic of Chosen One!" he slid the card into his duel disk, as well as two others for the card's effect. "Now you pick a card to decide whether I lose a monster, or Special summon one!" he smirked as he let chance take over.

'Damn, this could decide the duel…"' the man thought to himself, then he chose the right card." I'll chose the card on the right side of that thing." he pointed to the holographic chooser in the middle of the cards set down.

"This duel is just about over, now I Special Summon, thanks to your guess," he winked to annoy the man. "the mighty Sword Hunter (2450/1700)." he said as he slid the card into the monster card slot. "Now you'll see its power, attack his Gradius (1200/800)!" he yelled.

"Hold on, activate trap, the Magic Cylinder!" the man yelled as he pressed the button that redirected the attack. "It'll shoot your attack right back at you and your LP, sorry, but your attack didn't work!" the man laughed again as he saw the blue haired boy's reduce in LP.

Kou-1050

Man-5900

"Okay, but I'll still set these two magic/trap cards and end my turn." the two magic/trap cards appeared just as he stated, facedown. Kou began to sweat nervously as he watched his opponent draw his card. Shisei did the same thing. "Give me a break, you can't lose Kou" he shouted to his friend, but Kou was to sick with worry to respond to his friend.

"Oh, well what do you know, now I'll summon, Gradius's Option (?)!" the man yelled as he slipped the card onto his duel disk. "Now you'll see the power of this card, I can only Special Summon it when I have a Gradius on the field, and it will gain the attack and defense of the Gradius that I choose!" he commented. "The only thing is, when Gradius is destroyed, my Gradius's Option (1200/800)is also destroyed and sent to the graveyard." he stated. "Now, do you wish to activate your trap, it won't help you!" he smirked once again. "Now, Vorse Raider, Attack his monster!" he called his attack and waited to see the opposing monster destroyed.

"Activate trap!" Kou shouted out. He pressed the activation button on his duel disk, once again. "Now, you'll see the power of my Blast with Chain trap." he smirked triumphantly as the card flipped. "You see, when blast with chain is activated, my monster is equipped with this card, and it increases its attack by 500 points, so it has 50 more attack points than your monster." Kou jumped up in the air triumphantly.

"Alright Kou! That's the way to turn things around!" Sei yelled his support for his best friend.

"Thanks Sei." he nodded toward Shisei and then turned his attention back to the duel. "My Sword Hunter (2950/1700) now has more attack power than ever!" Kou watched as the monster was destroyed and a 50 LP amount was deducted from the other player. "And now your monster is treated like an equip card to mine, sorry, but your dead next turn!" Kou bragged.

Kou-1050

Man-5850

"Ahh, very interesting, but your monster can't survive for long." his opponent stated.

"Yeah, yeah, so you say, but now you will see my next brilliant move!" he set a magic/trap card and ended his turn.

"Ooh, now I'll activate the-" he was cut off by his opponent's interjection once again.

"Hey, now, what's your rush, your going to lose soon anyway!" he yelled as his trap card flipped, his opponent saw the Just desserts trap and flipped his own card.

"Your card won't work on me, because I activate Mystical Refpanel, it will shift the target player of a card to another player! So you lose 1000 LP instead of me!" Kou paled at his plight.

Kou-50

Man-5850

"Oh no, Kou, don't lose!" Sei yelled out to encourage his friend. But Kou was to out of it to hear him. "Kou, come on, you can still turn this duel around, he isn't invincible!" Sei shouted, but his support wasn't helping the other boy at all.

'I have no chance of winning with these cards."' he thought and sighed.

"Now that your done with your little sideshow, you lose, now I summon, Rainbow Flower(400/500), which is a monster that can attack your life points directly. Just in case you thwart my plans, which I doubt, I'll switch my other creatures to defense mode." he stated , finishing his laughter as the other boy dropped his cards in defeat. "DIRECT ATTACK MY CREATURE"

Kou-0

Man-5850

"KOU!" Sei rushed towards his best friend as he fell to the ground. " Are you all right!" he asked, worried that the intensity level on the Duel disk was up to high, it had happened before, and had made some of the duelist like Joey lose in Battle City.

"My name is Osmos, and I have come to show you how weak you and your friend are, but if you can improve your skill and win the upcoming Japan Regional Tournament…" the man who previously had no name smiled slightly. "Then you will be allowed to participate in something much more unique…" he emphasized the last word. And then, he walked toward the limo, turning once more to say: "Oh yeah, you can bring your idiotic wimp of a duelist to be your back up. Though he won't help Hahahah!" he smiled once more and then departed with Siegel before either boy could say a thing.

"So what now?" Kou asked, he looked at Sei once he was back on his seat, he wanted more than anything to win a match against Osmos. He didn't know why, but he just hated that guy's guts, so he was ready to duel in any tournament that he could re duel him in.

Shisei took out his deck out and said: "We should check out this tournament!" he replied enthusiastically. "After all, its pretty much a once in a lifetime opportunity! We might become famous!" he finished. Kou nodded, standing up to full height and adjusting his backpack.

"Well, let's go home." he said, departing into the streets of his Tokyo neighborhood, just like he always did after school, same old same old. For some oddreason, however, he didn't feel as if his life would stay the same for long.

* * *

**Next time**: The tournament begins and Osmos gives a new meaning to fear when he takes a guy into the shadow realm. But why does he seem so interested in Shisei himself? Find out on Next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!


	3. Opening Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. 

_Chapter 3: Opening Day_

The pale moon outside of the window of Kou's house was a dead giveaway that it was to late to be up… Or to early. Considering it was 3:00 in the morning, it made sense to think of it as to early. But still Kou continued his desperate analyzation of his deck for the flaw that made him lose today.

"UGH! I give up!" Kou threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. Unfortunately, he was holding his precious Duel Monsters card deck in the same hand, and now the cards were raining down on him. " AGH!" he yelled in more anger as he began to pick up the cards.

Kou lived alone, as his parents traveled so much, so the only person he was worried about waking was his best friend, Shisei Aragashi, who had spent the night. But now he didn't even care about the other boy's sleep schedule.

"You know, if you want to get up early, you could at least make breakfast." Sei came downstairs in his school uniform. "What are you still doing up anyways, I mean its like-" he cut off to yawn.

"I know, 3:00 in the morning." Kou finished the sentence for the sleepy blond. "I just refuse to believe that he only time I lost other than to you, was to a, a-a rich boy!" he stated in disgust. Sei stopped yawning to laugh uncontrollably.

"Hahahahaahahahahahaha!" he burst out so suddenly, Kou jumped a foot in the air. Which is pretty hard to do when you've been up all day.

"What's so funny, hey, Sei!" Kou asked irritated that his friend thought his plight was something to laugh about. When Shisei just continued to laugh, Kou grabbed a hold of the boy and shook him out of it. "Hey, answer me!" Kou glared.

"Oh, s- sorry, but I-I-It's just, you said that your only loss other than to me was to him, but you see Kou, I always beat you!" Sei yelled snickering through the sentence. When Kou didn't get it, he sighed and stated: "Instead of saying your only lost other than to me was him, you should have said you only win was to that boy in the Laundromat!" Sei stated.

All of a sudden, Kou looked pale and sickly. "Oh my god, I'm not even worth mentioning as a duelist." he stated, as he seemed to retreat into his own little world. Sei saw this and immediately tried to cheer his best friend up.

"Hey, come on, you hadn't had half as much experience as the two of us!" he said, walking over and putting a hand on Kou's shoulder. Big mistake.

Kou immediately grabbed Shisei by the and spun around, pulling the poor blonde's arm behind him and saying: "Now who's the world best duelist!" he smiled mischievously.

"OW OW OW OW! Come on Kou, you know I was jus- OW!" Shisei yelled in pain, but he still managed to laugh. It was just what the two of them did, Shisei outwitted Kou, and Kou out maneuvered and overpowered Shisei.

The television then popped on. "In later news, the big Duel Monster's tournament starts tomorrow, and we were promised by Mr. Higentaka Osmos that this tourney will blow all of the other's away!" the newsman reported. Kou let Shisei go as soon as his ears heard the words 'Duel Monsters' and Shisei forgot about his throbbing left arm for a moment. "And so far, with the regional champions of America, Japan, China, and many others, it is shaping up to be a good tournament." After that the boys stopped listening as a new way to test for prostate cancer, was introduced.

"That is definitely the tournament that Osmos was talking about, but why would he invite us?" Shisei pondered aloud. Kou look at the cards he now held in his hand.

"Well, whatever his reason for inviting us, he will pay for not respecting me as a duelist." Kou said, a look of determination in his eyes. Sei smiled at his best friend. 'Wow, I would've never thought of Kou being so determined! Especially over a game he never even liked until a few days ago.''' Sei yawned again after his interior monologue.

"Well, I'm off to bed, see you in the morning Kou." and with that, Shisei left Kouichi Nandao to ponder his own thoughts.

"I will defeat you Osmos, one way, or another." with his silent promise made, Kou went upstairs to sleep as well.

* * *

The next morning was hectic. The two amateur duelists were ready to head out… Except for school. So all day they sat in class, anxiously awaiting the final moments for the day so that they could leave and see the first match. Kou was a little too anxious.

"Mr. Nandao why is it, I wonder, that you, who has the lowest average of all the other boys and girls- No, you're the only little boy that is in this room." the teacher, Mrs. Jidai began her tirade. "So why is it, young men and women, that this boy thinks so little of this class, that he cycles through Cards in his favorite Science Teacher's Chemistry class?" she glared down at the sitting Kou. "Well, Kouichi, do you care to answer me?" she asked, tapping her large foot in impatience.

"I ate a lot of sugar today." Kou stated dumbly. By the end of the class, Kou had another detention.

* * *

"WHAT!" Sei cried when he heard the news. "What do you mean you have a detention!" He looked incredulously at his best friend.

The two were walking around for their lunch period, and they Sei had mentioned what he would do as soon as he got to the tourney. But then Kou, as easily as he could, told his blond buddy that he would not be accompanying him in the Tournament's Opening Matches. "Well, you can't just not come, it'll seem like you just chickened out, and then Osmos will never reduel you!" Sei stated, angry that his friend was serving detention. But Mrs. Jidai was doing this out of all fairness, she couldn't let him off, that would be unfair to all of the other people who served detention before for the same reason.

"I know, I know, but I can't go there today either, just make sure you get me the pass." Kou stated, referring to the pass that allowed the duelist into the tournament area when it was their turn to duel. "And I guess I'll meet you at around four, if my detention ends on time." Kou finished his statement.

"Yeah, okay, but you better not be late!" Shisei smiled as the bell rang to signal classes starting. The boys through away their trash and headed back into the school.

"Thanks Sei." he nodded toward Shisei and then turned his attention back to the duel. "My Sword Hunter (2950/1700) now has more attack power than ever!" Kou watched as the monster was destroyed and a 50 LP amount was deducted from the other player. "And now your monster is treated like an equip card to mine, sorry, but your dead next turn!" Kou bragged.

* * *

_Kou-1050_

_Man-5850_

_"Ahh, very interesting, but your monster can't survive for long." his opponent stated._

_"Yeah, yeah, so you say, but now you will see my next brilliant move!" he set a magic/trap card and ended his turn._

_"Ooh, now I'll activate the-" he was cut off by his opponent's interjection once again._

_"Hey, now, what's your rush, your going to lose soon anyway!" he yelled as his trap card flipped, his opponent saw the Just desserts trap and flipped his own card._

_"Your card won't work on me, because I activate Mystical Refpanel, it will shift the target player of a card to another player! So you lose 1000 LP instead of me!" Kou paled at his plight._

_Kou-50_

_Man-5850_

_"Oh no, Kou, don't lose!" Sei yelled out to encourage his friend. But Kou was to out of it to hear him. "Kou, come on, you can still turn this duel around, he isn't invincible!" Sei shouted, but his support wasn't helping the other boy at all._

_'I have no chance of winning with these cards."' he thought and sighed._

_**End flashback**_

Higentaka Osmos had replayed this scene of the recorded duel over and over. 'Something is different about the boy, from the start of the duel to the end of it, as soon as that Sword Hunter gets out."' Higentaka knew what was different, what he couldn't figure out was why it had changed. He was thinking of Kou's Aura, how he had managed to decrease it when he summoned the strongest monster of the duel. And why did it increase again when his opponent (Osmos himself) had played the Rainbow flower, the card that ended the duel in a loss for the swordsman. 'And what's even odder, he has fangs, those are more that large canine teeth, but he had no demonic aura or anything of the like about him."' he sighed and turned off the replay. 'Oh well, Kouichi Nandao, eventually, I will find out who you really are, and all of the other secrets you have. And you Shisei, well, your hidden power will also be mine."' with that, Higentaka Osmos left the room in darkness.

* * *

Shisei Aragashi walked around and around in circles outside of the registration booth. 'Uh, I still can't believe Kou couldn't have made it."' he slammed his head against the wall of the alley outside of the booth. The walls, were decrepit and spray painted, they hadn't been washed in years, at least. The rest of the street didn't look that good either, It had cracks and urine in those cracks. The neighborhood was more than sick. "If I ever become a rich guy who gets enough money to throw one of these, It'll be somewhere nice!" he promised, trying to take his mind off of the worry that he might not be able to get the tickets for him and his friends. Then someone sent an angel to ease his worries. Or at least an angel in his opinion.

"Hey there, um, mind if I cut?" questioned a feminine voice from behind him. Shisei turned, his first reaction to the question, in his present mood, was "Hell no Bitch", but as he saw the beautiful girl that stood behind him, that reaction was lost.

"Hubba Hubba." he uttered brainlessly, and that was a new way for Shisei Aragashi, top of the class in everything possible.

"Umm… HEY, QUIT STARING AT MY-" the girl was cut off as the announcer's voice yelled out over the intercoms.

"Mrs. Namia Sashimi, please report to the front for your ticket and duel disk." the voice blared. The girl, who was apparently Namia Sashimi rushed up and prepared to get her duel disk.

Sei just stared after her. Then he heard the announcer call Kou, so he went up instead.

"You Kouichi Nandao?" a big gruff black man questioned, he looked down at Sei as though he were a disgusting insect. Or an alien.

"No, I'm Shisei Aragashi, but Kou is my best friend, and he can't get his-" he was cut off by the man muttering something , then going into a quiz.

"Okay, friend, when is the kid's b-day?" he asked the question.

"His birthday is January 14. Now that that has been settled, you know I'-" Once again he was cut off as the man began to ask him another question.

"Okay, what is the kid's favorite color?" the quiz continued.

"His favorite color is violet, but he usually puts green down to throw off the man." Sei answered, more than slightly annoyed that he had to answer questions about his own best friend. He had, after all, come to get his friends duel disk, and he was sure there was no law against that. So he decided to put his foot down. "Now looky here, your not going to quiz me on the likes and dislikes of my best friend, I don't care about security or the like, now gimme that duel disk!" and with that, he snatched his friends dueling equipment and stomped away angrily.

The man sighed and stepped in the path of retreat. "Alright, now you need to calm down before I get angry. Got that, boy!" the man towered over Shisei, and he instantly felt his anger evaporate. It was replaced by fear. Not so much the fear of the large man that could crush his head in his hand, but more so the fear that he would be kicked out of the tournament.

So he did the only thing he could in that situation. He set the duel disk down right where it was before, and began to bow and apologize. "I'm sooooooo sorry, you have to forgive me, I had a lot of sugar today, and well, I really need the duel disks." he said in such an apologetic way.

"Now that's more like it." the man smiled greedily as an evil thought came to his head. "You know what, I think you should give me more of an apology than that." the man looked up in false thought. "I know, how about you give me your rarest Duel Monsters card!" he questioned. The man didn't play the little child's game, he just wanted to see how far he could push the kid. Unfortunately, his little game was brought to an end rather quickly.

"How dare you treat a duelist this way!" a certain silver haired man stepped into the room, as he had come to see the major hold up. The big burly man immediately turned to mush.

"I'm sorry, please, forgive me." he paused to kiss his employer's feet, who looked as though a disgusting bug had been kissing him. SMACK! The sound resonated within the chambers. The man got up and stumbled backward, as he realized that Higentaka had just hit him. "You, y-you" he could only say the same thing over and over, he had gone into such shock.

Shisei stared at the scene that was taking place in front of him, he had half a mind to run, before he saw the man get hit again. But then the rage of seeing someone utterly disrespect another person began to remind him of the match that poor Kou had lost.

"Yes, I hit you, and I hope I get the chance to hit you again for what you've been doing to these poor duelist." he stated in as pure a rage as Shisei himself. "Unfortunately, I don't hit those that are homeless. And since you won't have a decent paying job… You will be soon." he stated with a smirk on his face.

Shisei watched as the man stopped holding his own cheek and shoot up, outraged by the smaller man's actions. "Wait, you, you can't be firing me!" he yelled, he grabbed Higentaka by the collar of his shirt. Osmos looked up into the crazily angry eyes and nodded. The man grabbed Higentaka by the collar, he looked at the smaller silver haired man. "YOU CAN'T FIRE ME!" he yelled.

Higentaka didn't look like he would be changing his mind. Instead the entire room seemed to go dark, hiding the features of Osmos. Shisei's eyes went wide.

'Somehow this seems like my cue to run…"' with that Sei slowly edged toward the door. Then the big burly man roared in pain, Shisei couldn't help it, he had to see what was going on. Turning around he saw…

A giant dragon glared down at the man who was previously the biggest living thing in the room. Now though, the dragon far outstripped him in size. But the shocking part about the dragon, wasn't its size it was it's color. It had beautiful blue eyes, and it's scales were a pearly white.

"No way!" Shisei yelled. He covered his mouth right after. 'Please say it didn't hear me."' he kept his eyes closed as the Blue Eyes white dragon roared.

"No, you don't' want him, it's the oaf you want, eat him." Higentaka stated, twirling strands of his long silver hair between his fingers. The beast tossed its head around a bit, as though warming up. "I leave it to you." the dragon roared once more. Shisei opened his eyes in time to see the beast power up a White Lightning attack, and to see Higentaka disappear. Then the dragon's attack hit.

"No, no- AGHHHHH!" the man, too shocked by the appearance of a dragon, didn't get to beg for mercy, before he was killed. And so Shisei was alone.

* * *

"Okay Sei, I think you had a little to much to drink, and that's saying a lot, when the closest you get to alcohol is grape juice!" Kou replied to the story that Shisei, his best friend in the world, had told him.

"Kou, I'm telling you I'm not making this up, Higentaka like went… demon or something, okay." he sighed in exasperation. Really he could only be aggravated with himself. How could he expect Kou to believe this with no proof?

The two boys were busy unpacking the stuff in their hotel rooms. The tourney grounds were about 30 miles away from their home, so they had got a hotel room to share, splitting the cost between them. The hotel had many other duelist staying there as well. So the two were very well prepared in case anyone challenged them. They had, in fact, already been down to see the weaker duelists of the tournament go against each other.

"Oh well, the first matches should be good. Some girl named Namia is going against Mako Tsunami. Should be good, Mako is a water duelist, and the weird Namia girl is a fire duelist." Kou stated, happy that he knew something about the players competing. After the excitement of the day, both of the boys were anxious to get to sleep. And so, with the events of earlier that day wiped from their mind's, the two boys fell asleep.

* * *

The next day, the two got up and brushed their teeth, as well as got their duel disks (which Sei had snuck out and answered a few awkward questions about before he was allowed to leave.) ready and eat a small breakfast with no conversation. The match was supposed to start at nine, so that every duelist would have time to go at least once that day. The two boys equipped their respective duel disk by eight thirty, and headed across the street to the tournament area.

"Wow, I had no idea that so many people turned out to these things!" Kou stated as he looked down on the heads of everyone. He was walking the aisles along the balcony, so as to find a seat. Sei had left him to get some refreshments.

"HELLO!" Kou jumped five feet in the air as the booming voice came on over the intercom. The voice was none other than an official Duel Monsters Tournament announcer's. "Welcome to the fifth annual Duel Monsters Japan Tournament!" the announcer cried from his place in the stands. "Today, all of those that wish to duel will get their wish! But only one of the hundreds of duelists that were said to be eligible to compete in this tournament will achieve the title of The Japanese Regional Champion." he continued, listing the prize. "But that's not all, the winner will also receive three special edition tournament packs!" Sei and Kou both turned to pay attention to this announcement, though they were still split up. "The tournament packs are said to contain the strongest of strong monsters that have been released. The winner will get all three. So get ready, because the first three match ups are already on display!" he finished and let the screen that was where the duel was to be broadcast, in case the people in the far back area of the proscenium couldn't see it, showed several names.

Namia vs. Mako- Round 1

Kouichi vs. Rex-Round 2

Shisei vs. Espa Roba- Round 3

'Oh crap, I'm up against a regional champ right off the back!"' Kou thought to himself. He looked at his deck that was inserted into his duel disk. 'Please don't let me down,"' he took a deep breath and sat down, ready to watch the match before his own.

"ALLRIGHTY THEN!" the announcer's voice rang throughout the air. "Let's get the first match under way!" he smiled as Namia and Mako walked out.

Kou and Shisei had just met up again, and both of their jaws dropped as they laid eyes on Namia. "I saw her, Kou, she was the girl that went before me to get the duel disks!" Shisei said, he turned to Kou, who only continued to stare, as though mesmerized. "Kou, hello?" Shisei said, he waved his hand in front of the blue haired boy's face. Kou only continued to stare. Sei sighed and took a deep breath. "KOU!" the boy yelled, almost loud enough to be heard over the roar of the crowd. Though the rest didn't hear him, Kou did, and he immediately snapped out of it.

"Sorry, Sei, she was just so beautiful." Kou stated, putting a hand behind his head.

"Shhh, the match is starting." Sei shushed his best friends and watched as the LP scores were set.

Namia and Mako had already entered the ring, they looked across from the areas that each had chosen, to each other. "I hope you don't expect me to go easy on you, just because you're a female duelist." Mako smirked as his LP score popped up.

"Never, now you'll see that fire can and _will _beat water!" she yelled across to him as her own LP score was set.

The look in both of their eyes told they both knew what they were doing.

Looking at their decks, the two drew their hands, and in unison, they yelled: "DUEL!"

_To be continued_

_

* * *

_

**Next time**: Namia and Mako begin the duel, but shortly after the start, Mako takes the upper hand, how Is Namia supposed to be a challenge to someone who can disable her attacks, find out next time on: Duel Monsters Maximum!


	4. A Whale of a Duel

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. Unless you don't know who Mako Tsunami is. 

_Chapter 4: A whale of a duel_

"I'll go first, as I'm a girl." Namia winked at Mako, who didn't seem fazed at all. "Alright, I'll summon, Blazing Inpachi (1850/0) and set two card face down. End turn." she smiled. Starting off with an 1850 attack monster was a very good move indeed.

"Is that piece of charcoal supposed to scare me?" Mako questioned. "I'll summon Cure Mermaid (1500/800), as well as set three cards facedown, go." he commanded.

"With pleasure, you just better hope you get lucky, with the cards I have!" Namia gloated.

"I'm not scared, so just make your move!" Mako demanded once again.

"Alright, alright!" she drew, and smiled as she played the card. Now I'll play Change of Heart-" she was cut off by her opponent's interjection.

"Hold on, I'll activate Magic Jammer, this'll stop your plan!" he smiled at his play and let an angered Namia continue.

"Alright, then I'll just summon Solar Flare Dragon, in att-" once again, Mako interrupted.

"Now now girly, what's your rush, I'll activate, the last two of my facedown cards, first, comes Interdimensional Matter Transporter!" he roared in satisfaction. The card flipped face up and the matter transporter began to charge up. "This card will remove a monster on my side of the field until the end of your turn, and then I'll chain it with Torriental Tribute! This makes the sea swallow all of our monsters, only, I don't have any!" Mako tossed his head back and laughed as Namia twitched and sent her two monsters to the graveyard.

"Okay, you made your point laughing boy, I'll end my turn there." she ended her turn.

"Well well well, how did you ever come to be a regional champion of any area, much less London!" Mako questioned as his mermaid reappeared and he drew.

* * *

Up in the stands, Shisei and Kou had been anxiously watching the results of the duel. "So she is the regional champion of London!" Shisei stated. "Whoa, she sure doesn't look it." It was true, Namia was tall and had a dark skin color, she had crimson red eyes and long blond hair that made her stand out more. 

"Yeah, well looks can be deceiving, I just hope she wins!" Kou said, though he had no idea why he wanted her to win so badly.

* * *

"Well, now that my mermaid is back on the field, I'll activate, A legendary Ocean!" he told her, suddenly, the holograms began to form the very look of a raging storm at sea, and the duelists could barely be seen. "This field magic card will be treated as Umi and it adds an extra 200 attack points to my monsters." Mako shook with laughter at how easy this was. "So now I'll summon, Mermaid Knight (1700/900)!" the very picture of a warrior version of Cure Mermaid appeared next to her counter part. "And when Umi is on the field, she can attack twice, but I'm still not done, I'll activate the last card in my hand, Gravity Bind, which will make it so that all monsters level 4 or higher, cannot attack!" Mako smirked as he slid the card down.

Namia raised an eyebrow at the fact that Mako had only level four monsters on the field. "Um, you realize that both of the monsters you have are level four, don't you?" she smiled a tad at his predicament.

"You really are stupid!" he stated, shaking his head sadly. "A Legendary Ocean also downgrades all water monsters down one level, so the creatures I have are level three now, sorry!" he then declared his attack. "Now, my Mermaid's direct attack her LP!" after the statement both of the mermaids rushed and slashed poor Namia, then Mermaid Knight attacked once more, as though for good measure.

Namia-3100

Mako-8800

Namia winced as she saw her LP score drop to less than half of the normal. 'One more attack like that and I'll need surgery."' she joked to herself, though she didn't feel like laughing at the moment.

"I'll let you go now." Mako told her, he was more confident than ever that he would win this duel.

"Alright, now prepare to meet your maker!" Namia stated, she slid the top card off of her deck and added it to her hand. "Okay, now I'll set this monster in defense, and play these two card face down. End turn" she stated.

"Are you sure, you can't beat my strategy by being defensive, you know." he drew and smiled. "Now say hello to the card that will help me defeat you!" Mako activated a trap card. "This card is call The Tower Of Babel." A giant tower that seemed endless appeared in the mid section of the field "This card will easily limit you on the magic cards you may need to play." Mako laughed at Namia's look of confusion. "You see, the tower of Babel will gain counters as we play magic cards" Mako started his explanation. "And when four counters are played, the one who played the magic card, will have to take 3000 points of direct damage!" Mako stated simply, then he sighed and redid his explanation as the audience was in a dumbfound silence.. "Or in other words, when four magic cards have been played, the one who played it will receive the damage." After the audience understood, he ended his turn.

* * *

Kou stared at the tower in awe. 'How is she going to win, if she can't play but only four magic cards, plus, Mako might play three just to get the ball rolling."' Kou thought to himself. Then he did something odd, something that just sort of happened. "GO NAMIA!" he shouted, forcing the people in the immediate vicinity to cover their ears.

"Wow, you sure are enthusiastic!" Sei stated, shaking off the pain in his ears. "Maybe you should go hump her leg, lover boy." he finished, as he got hit by his best friend.  
"So, Shisei, you and your friend seem to be enjoying yourselves." a voice stated from behind the two of the boys. They both looked up to see Osmos.

"What do you want!" Sei asked, he scooted a little farther away from the silver haired man. "Come to murder someone?" he knew he shouldn't have said that, but he wanted Kou to believe him, and the only way that that would have happened was if he put his own neck on the line for some proof.

"Not at all, just come to get a better view." with that he sat down, and Shisei didn't feel like staking his life anymore, so he stayed quiet and continued to watch the match.

* * *

Namia looked at her trap cards that lay face down. 'Darn, he didn't attack me, he's probably going to rely on that Cure Mermaid to up his LP into the higher zones."' she looked at her hand and did the only thing she could. "I'll end my turn there." Mako smiled.

"Now the move is mine, and soon the sea shall swallow you up!" he drew his card to begin his turn. "Now I'll activate, Pot of Greed, which will allow me to draw two cards" he activated the card, and waited to see if Namia would foil it.

Namia bit her lip, she could activate the Jar Robber card she had facedown, but that was a quick play magic card, and she would be closer to getting four counters on that stupid Babel card. She didn't risk it.

"Hmm, now I'll play Giant Trunade, to return to our hands, the magic and trap cards on the field. Then I'll reactivate all of my cards, excluding the tower of Babel now, my Cure Mermaid will attack your defense!" Mako shouted, his Mermaid flew across the field and blew a deadly kiss at the monster.

"You attacked, The Thing in the Crater(1000/1200)!" she smirked as the monster went to the graveyard. "He lets me special summon one pyro monster from my hand, so I'll summon, Molten Behemoth (1000/2200), in defense mode and it has more than enough defense points to protect me, sorry." Namia smirked as Mako frowned and ended his own turn.

Namia Drew, and instantly, she knew how to turn Mako's whole strategy around. "I'm sorry, but your going to lose Mako!" she stated triumphantly.

"How do you figure? Mako questioned.

Namia just tossed him a card. "Now I would like to special summon that card by offering the two monsters on your side of the field." she stated, Mako just stared in horror at the card she tossed him.

"No, you can't." he said, looking up at her. Then, he nodded in solemnest. He tributed the two monsters on his field and slid Lava Golem (3000/2500) in attack mode. The overlarge golem appeared in the front of Mako's field, and it immediately began to melt. "Are you done?" Mako questioned. He had been over come with despair.

"Yeah, so go." Namia smiled as Mako's move dropped his LP.

Namia-3100

Mako-8600

"I- I'm done with my turn." Mako said after he drew.

"Well now, looks like your about to lose!" Namia smirked. "Now I'll activate Monster Reborn, to revive Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000)." the mighty dragon appeared on the field and roared. "And since you lose 500 LP during my end phases, you'll lose 1500 LP total every two turns!" she said, relieved that she managed to gain the upper hand in the duel.

"I'm not out yet!" Mako yelled as he drew. "Hah, Cure Mermaid, now I'll get 800 LP back, even though I lose 1500!" he yelled, the ray of hope he needed was here. Namia frowned. 'Now he's going to keep getting LP back, this is going to take a while."' Mako then ended his turn.

"Now you'll see the power of my deck!" Namia stated, she drew, and smirked. "Now I'll activate, Bad Reaction to Simochi, which will reverse the effect of LP gain, sorry, your still going to lose LP, and now even more!" Namia yelled.

Mako twitched in frustration as she ended her turn. "Now I'll go." he drew, and smirked. "Now I'll finish this duel." he inserted a Magic card into his duel disk. "Now, let me show you the power of The Fortress Whale's Oath, which means that I'll sacrifice the two monsters on my field, to summon Fortress Whale (2550/2350) and now I'll play, Giant trunade, to blow all Magic, and trap cards back into our hands!" Mako smirked at his start of a comeback. "This is the end for you! Fortress Whale (2350/2150), attack her Molten Behemoth (1000/2200) " he declared the attack, and the 30ft what slipped under the water, and resurfaced up above the Behemoth. Then it slammed down, blowing the other beast into digital dust. "Now, I'll reactivate my field magic card, The Legendary Ocean, and end my turn." he set the card in the field Magic card zone, and motioned for her to make her move.

Namia-3100

Mako-6800

The duel had so suddenly switched around in favor of Mako, Namia was just staring at the field. 'I'll never win at this rate, but I can't give up!"' she told her self, she drew, praying for a pyro monster. 'No, fire, but not pyro, oh well, my Dragon's doomed."' she thought to herself. "Summon Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu (500/500) in defense mode, and now I'll set this card face down, as well as switch my Dragon to defense mode (1000) that's it for me."

Namia-3100

Mako-6300

"Hahahaha, now I'll show you the power of water!" Mako drew and smirked. "Now prepare for the end, I'll summon Gagagigo (2050/1200) and he has over 2000 attack, thanks to the legendary ocean. So now, I'll attack, destroy her monsters my creature, you first, Gagagigo, attack her Dragon!" he declared the attack and his newly summoned creature rushed to destroy the Dragon.  
"Hah, you've activated my trap card, a little something I like to call, Backfire, now, whenever a fire monster is sent to the graveyard from the field, you lose 500 LP!" Namia cried triumphantly.

"Who cares, you can only summon once per turn, so I'll just get in two direct attacks, and you'll lose." Mako stated simply. "Now, my Whale, attack her Kotetsu!" the monster repeated the action that destroyed the Behemoth to obliterate her final defense. "End turn." Mako stated.

Namia-3100

Mako-5300

"Wow, she sure knows how to turn things around, doesn't she, Kou?" Sei asked his fanged friend. Once again, he was ignored as Kou was staring to intently at the match to hear the question that was directed towards him.

Shisei only sighed and began to watch the match again.

'Okay, now I'm close to done, I have no defense monsters already set, and I'm only a turn away from losing the duel."' Namia recapped her plight, as she put her hand over her deck. 'Please be a card I can use!"' she silently prayed. She slid the card off of her deck. As she looked at it, she was shocked. Tears of joy began to stream down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Mako, but I won." she stated wiping her eyes.

"Yeah right, you bluff to much!" Mako said. Though he couldn't hide the fact that he was worried.

"First, I'll play Card of Sanctity!" she yelled. "Now we each draw until we have 6 cards in our hands." the fire and water duelist did so. "After this, I'll remove my Solar Flare Dragon from play, to special summon, Inferno(1000/1900)." A giant flaming creature that was undistinguishable except for the flames surrounding it appeared. "Next, Shield and Sword will Switch attack and defense values for one turn." Namia set the third card in her series down.

"Where is all of this nonsense going?" Mako questioned, rolling his eyes.

"Just watch, now I'll play Riryouki, which will add half of your Fortress Whale's (2550/2350)attack, to my Inferno's (1900/1100), giving it a total of 3175attack points." Two orbs of energy appeared and drainedstrength fromthe whalewhile adding it to the Inferno."Then I'll play Soul Release, and remove my Burning Inpachi, Behemoth, and Kotetsu from the game." the card's effect activated, and the cards were ejected from the graveyard. "Finally, Return from a different Dimension allows me to play as many monsters as I can that were removed from play, so all of my monsters will return to me!" Namia raiser her hands up as the beasts came back to her. "Unfortunately, that will cost me 2000 of my LP, but it's a price to pay, to destroy you!" she yelled. "Now, Inferno (3175/1100), Destroy his Fortress Whale (1275/2350)!" she shouted to the flames of power. "And when you lose a monster to Inferno, you also lose 1500 LP!" she continued.

Namia-1100

Mako-1800

"NO!" Mako cried out, not so much because of his LP drop, but because he had just seen his precious Fortress Whale destroyed.  
"And now, my Solar Dragon will destroy Gagagigo, and my other monsters shall direct attack! Now my creatures, end this duel!" the beasts obliged, and Solar Flare Dragon destroyed the Gagagigo and then Burning Inpachi finished the duel.

Namia-1100

Mako-0

Mako fell to his knees, he knew he had been defeated, but it was his own fault, now he would never find his father. "Hey, don't be so down!" Namia walked over and stated. Mako looked up and she helped him to his feet. "Thanks, Mako."

"For what?" Mako questioned, bewildered.

"For showing me my limits, and letting me know that I could win, even in the bleakest of situations, I thank you for this." she stated.

Mako smiled. Namia returned the smile.

"YAYYYYY!" the entire stadium cheered for the two extraordinary duelists. As they left the stage.

"Now that's sportsmanship, eh folks." the announcer questioned rhetorically. "But , any ways , now the next match is scheduled to begin, that's right, Kouichi Nandao vs. Rex Raptor, will the duelist please report to the duel arena.

Kou looked down at the arena and took a deep breath. "Well, Sei, wish me luck!" he ordered, and then, he jumped over the railing, ready to test his skill against a regional champ.

* * *

**Next time**: Kou and Rex both start off with some of the best combos in the game, but can Kou really beat a regional champion, and what is with Osmos, what is he looking for? Find out next time on: Duel Monsters Maximum!


	5. The Reptile vs The Warrior

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. Unless you don't know who Rex Raptor is. 

_Chapter 5: The Reptile vs. The Warrior_

Only moments after the duel had been won by Namia, the next two duelists, Kou and Rex, had approached. In the moments between matches, people had gotten up, and took restroom breaks. Shisei wasn't one of them. "Come on Kou!" he shouted, almost roared for his best friend. Osmos looked at the boy questionably.

"You mean you seriously think he can win?" he questioned, amused at the thought. Sei glared up at the silver haired duelist. But he was going to keep his peace, after all, there was no reason to go get himself killed if Kou wasn't around to see it. "If you really think so, then I suppose the fool has a chance." Osmos stated. Then they were both silent as the screen came on and the announcer's voice was heard.  
"Now we are going to see the newcomer to dueling, go up against an ace duelist, who likes to use dinos as his ace in the hole!" the announcer yelled with fake enthusiasm. "Can a warrior deck defeat him? I don't know, so let's find out!" he cried. The duel began.

Alright kid, let's get this show under way!" Rex cried. 'Damn, I always get the amateurs, no one's going to take me seriously after I lost to Wheeler."' Rex sighed as he reminisced about the good old days, and how he used to be one of the best duelist in the world.

Kou twitched in annoyance at how his opponent's attention was on something else. "HEY!" he shouted out to the dino duelist. "Why don't you try paying attention!" the other duelist looked up, startled, and then smirked.

"Oh, you want me to pay attention to the likes of you?" he laughed hysterically. "But that's alright, I'll show you my power! Summon Hyper Hammerhead (1500/1200)in attack mode!" he slapped the card down and the large monster, that was jumping up and down appeared. Kou gulped. 'That thing can send anything back to my hand, better be careful."'

"Okay! My move." Kou stated. He drew and smiled widely. "Alright ,I'll set two cards face down! End turn." the cards appeared on his field and Rex moved his hand over to draw.

"Let me show you real power! Summon, Uraby(1500/800) in attack mode!" Rex placed another card in his monster slot, this one was vertical as well. "Now my creatures shall direct attack!" he smirked as no trap was activated on his opponent's field.

Kou-9000

Rex-8000

"Well, looks like your falling behind." Rex smirked, he had gained the upper hand.

"You sure, cause it looks like you fell into my trap!" Kou yelled.

"What do you mean, look at the LP co- WHAT IN THE WORLD!" Rex yelled in utter confusion, he was completely lost on how his opponent's LP had increased by 1000. "Why did your LP go up? Is this some kind of joke?" rex questioned, though he wasn't laughing.

"No, silly, I just activated my Nutrient Z trap, It gives me 4000 LP before the damage is subtracted from my LP!" Kou smirked, he had gotten the advantage in LP with one card. "My move?" Kou questioned.

"After I set one card facedown, now go." he shouted.

"Alright, not only did you make the mistake of giving me more LP, you allow me to summon The Fiend Mega cyber (2200/1200) in attack mode, without offering a tribute!" Kou clenched his fist as he showed his opponent his brilliant move.

* * *

"Alright!" Sei cried from the stands. "How's that for an amateur move!" Sei smirked, ready to prove Osmos wrong on his bet that Kou would lose. But Osmos had disappeared, he was nowhere in sight. 'Well that's weird, he was just here."' he thought, scratching his blond head.

"Hey, can I sit here?" a familiar voice asked. Sei turned sharply to see the smiling face of a beautiful woman standing right beside him. The voice belonged to the beautiful fire duelist Namia Sashimi.

"Oh, um sure, no one's sitting there." he stated as the fire duelist sat beside him. "By the way, nice match." Shisei said, almost impulsively.

"Oh, so you saw my match, I didn't think anyone would really remember it." she stated nonchalantly.

"What do you mean, you tore Mako Tsunami up, that's something that Yugi Moto and Joey Wheeler had trouble with!" he smiled, pushing his glasses up. This made Namia blush. Then they heard a cry from the ring as Kou called for his monster to attack. "Come on Kou!" Sei yelled again, and the conversation between him and Namia was forgotten.

* * *

"Now Fiend Mega cyber, attack his Uraby!" Kou blared. The large golden armored warrior slashed the beast in half. "Now that's what I call a fossil fuel!" Kou snickered at his own joke, but stopped when the audience was silent.

Kou-9000

Rex-7300

"I would be phased by losing a monster, but with my face down card, you the one who's going to fear!" Rex tapped a button on his duel disk and the face down card, Rope of Life, was revealed. "This card, the Rope of light, will even us out, first off, I can only use the Rope of Life's effect if a monster is destroyed this turn, and I discard my entire hand." he slipped his cards into his graveyard and another card popped out of it. "Then the monster that I need will be revived with 800 extra attack points, so come back my mighty reptile!" Rex finished his trap play as Uraby(2300/800) appeared.

"Uh-oh!" Kou gulped, then he ended his turn.

"Nothing can save you now!" Rex yelled happily as the upper hand slipped over to him, so did the card he pulled off of his deck. "Now you lose, Uraby, attack his monster!" the brown dino rushed over and bit the armored warrior with a loud CRUNCH! Then Kou twitched as the LP score dropped.

Kou-8900

Rex-7300

"Now for my next trick, my Hyper Hammerhead(1500/1200) shall directly attack you!" and with a slam of its tail, the monster reduced Kou's LP even more.

Kou-7400

Rex7300

"Well champ, looks like I still have a higher LP score than you, and unless you drew something really good, I have a better hand too!" Kou cried triumphantly. "Now that its my turn, I'll set a monster in defense mode, End turn." the card appeared, and Rex drew.

"Not the card I'd hoped for, but it'll do. Now I'll sacrifice my Hyper Hammerhead dino to summon your defeat, reveal Driceratops(2400/1500)!" Rex then did a little dance as he set the card down by sending another to his graveyard.

Kou gulped. "Umm, break for refreshments?" he questioned as the two beasts glared down at him.

"The time is now, you'll soon see my monster's true power, now, my beast, attack his face down monster!" the beast obliged and rushed over and stomped the facedown monster, which was revealed as Mataza the Zapper(1300/800).

Kou-5800

Rex-7300

"What, how in the world did you reduce my LP when my monster was in defense?" Kou questioned, completely oblivious to the effect of the opponent's monster.

"My monster can deal damage through defense, you idiot! So your defense is useless!" Rex snickered as Kou realized that it was useless to play defense. "Now Uraby, blow him to pieces!" the Uraby rushed over and attacked.

* * *

"Oh no, now Kou can't play defense!" Shisei yelled.

Namia turned and looked at the blond. "So you and him have been friends for… how long?" she questioned. Shisei looked at her incredulously.

"Is now really the time to be asking at a time like this!" he questioned.

"Well sorry, I didn't think you'd mind. After all, we all know he's going to lose." she stated, rolling her eyes.

Shisei twitched. Then he turned his attention back to the duel.

* * *

Kou-3500

Rex-7300

"Okay, that more than stung." Kou stated as he started his turn after the attack. He drew. 'Alright, shield and sword, this along with my Throwstone Unit (900/2000) can really help. "Okay Rex, get ready, cause I'm going to blow your mind!" Kou yelled to the opponent.

"You lamebrain, I have two super strong monsters on the field, and all you've got is a lacking LP score." Rex retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, well now I'll summon, Throwstone Unit (900/2000) in attack mode." the unit of men appeared, ready and waiting to destroy the beast with a giant stone they carried. "But I'm still not done, next I'll activate the Shield and Sword spell, which'll swap attack and defense values for 1turn!" he slid the card into his duel disk and smirked.

"Oh no!" Rex cried as the full realization hit him. "Now you can destroy one of my monsters!" he stared at the Throwstone Unit, which had gotten a very large steel boulder to replace the rock they previously had.

"Yeah, but that's not all, next I'll set a card facedown, then my Throwstone Unit shall attack your Uraby!" the declared attack worked, and Rex's LP score dropped accordingly.

Kou-3500

Rex-6100

"Darn you amatuer, you'll pay for that!" Rex shouted.

"See if you can make me, I'll end my turn." he stated.

"Alright, now I draw!" the brown haired duelist took the next card off of his deck and frowned. "Not what I needed, but it'll do. Now I'll summon the Granadora (1900/700) in attack mode!" he smirked as the creature appeared on his field. "And when the mighty Granadora is summoned, I get an additional 1000 LP!" he smirked at his move and watched the LP score's readjust.  
Kou-3500

Rex-7100

* * *

Namia's eyes widened at the move. Shisei's twitched in annoyance. " No offense, but I don't think your friend is in the same league with Rex that monster will be hard to destroy." Namia stated.

"So what, who cares what you think!" Shisei snapped at the flame duelist. Then he covered his mouth. It was something about the tournaments that just made Shisei upset.

"Its okay, I know I shouldn't have made it sound like your friend, Kou wasn't it?" she stopped halfway through the sentence to ask this. Unfortunately, Shisei had already refocused on his blue haired friend's duel.

* * *

"So now that I have two strong enough monsters on the field, I'll attack you're Unit of pebble launchers!" Rex cried, his Granadora launched the first attack, then it stopped and fell to one knee, the defense position in duel monsters. "WHAT!" Rex cried, annoyed that his monster… no monsters had switched to defense. "How did this happen, my monsters were in attack mode just a few seconds ago!" he grabbed his head in agravation.

"Simple, lizard brain, I activated my Zero Gravity trap, it changes the positions of all the monsters on the field, so you're attack was denied!" Kou stated, as the flipped card shined. "Now can I go?" he questioned the dino duelist. When he got a nod in return, he drew. "Alright, get ready for a world of hurt! I'll summon, Strike Ninja(1700/1200), in attack mode!" he slapped the card into the proper area on the duel disk and a tall stealthy looking ninja appeared. "Now you'll face the power of my ninja, attack his Driceratops(1500)!" the ninja took a huge leap into the air and slammed it's feet down onto the large prehistoric beast. "And that will end my turn." Kou stated, proud that he had wiped out a defense card.

"Don't look so smug, I'll wipe you out soon enough!" he drew. At first, he had no response to the card he had drawn. Then he laughed hysterically, making the audience stare. "Sorry, its just, I drew the strongest card in my deck, now fear, for I'll summon the ultimate dino I'll activate, the spell, Ultra Evolution Pill!" he smirked as the card was slid into his duel disk. "this card allows me to tribute my reptile, to summon my mighty dino!" he roared fiercer than a dino itself.

"Uh-oh!" was all that the blue haired duelist could say.

"Now, tremble in fear as I summon, the Black Tyranno(2600/1800) in attack mode!" the monster appeared, roaring as it finished evolving from the Granadora. "Unfortunately, I lose 2000 LP when my Granadora is sent to the graveyard, but that's a small price to pay to be able to wipe you out!" the dino duelist snickered as his LP score dropped.

Kou-3500

Rex-5100

"Now my beast, attack his Strike Ni-" "Hold on! I'll activate my Ninja's special ability, and remove it from play this turn!" Kou jeered triumphantly. "Sorry, but you'll have to attack my other monsters!"

"You wish, loser. Now Black Tyranno, attack his LP directly!" Rex yelled. Kou raised an eyebrow, then his eyes went wide when the attack went through. "Before you ask, if you only have defense position monsters on your side of the field, I can directly attack your LP!" Rex answered the boys question.

Kou-900

Rex-5100

Kou's eyes widened. "Oh no, Now I can't play defense." he realized.

"That's right, now you understand what a stupid idea it was to try and defeat me!" Rex yelled triumphantly.

Kou was reminded of his loss against Osmos, and once again, he fell helplessly to the ground.

_To be continued_

**Next time**: Rex and Kou continue their duel, with Kou barely hanging on, can he possible win against a duelist who knows how to counter his every move? Find out on the next: Duel Monsters Maximum!


	6. The Swordhunter vs The Black Tyranno

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. Unless you don't know who Rex Raptor is. 

_Chapter 6: The Black Tyranno vs. Sword Hunter_

"No, Kou get up, you haven't' lost yet!" Shisei yelled to his best friend. "You can still beat him!" he continued.

"What's wrong with him!" Namia questioned, biting her lip in worry. "Is he going to be able to win, did this happen before?" she continued.

"Yeah, he actually dueled that Higentaka Osmos guy, but he lost, and right before, he was like that." Sei stated sadly. "So I don't know if he can win, he's pretty much given up." he continued, miserable that he wouldn't meet his friend in the final round.

"Don't worry, I know he'll get up." Namia stated, though she wasn't sure how she knew, she was sure she knew.

* * *

'There it is, his aura, it increased, even though he's about to lose… No, its not increasing, its changing!"' Higentaka thought to himself, as he continued to watch the match. 'The question is, what is his aura changing into, a demon, a sorcerer, or something else?"' thought the silver haired man, as he sat in the booth directly above the announcer's. "We'll have to find out, won't we, Kouichi Nandao?" he questioned the thin air, and then he continued to analyze the duel.

* * *

"What's wrong, you giving in to me already! Hahahahahahahahahahahahah!" Rex laughed he continued the laughter, making the audience sweat drop. "Well, where are the mighty warriors now?" he continued mocking the new duelist.

"You want to see warriors?" Kou questioned suddenly.

"Oh, still awake, oh well, my Black Tyranno will enjoy wiping you out!" Rex retorted.

"You think so, huh, well unfortunately, I'm going to end this duel next turn!" Kou looked up smiling mischievously. "So can I make my move?" he questioned.

"It won't help you, so go." Rex yawned, definitely not taking his opponent seriously.

"Alright, for my turn, I'll draw!" he drew. "Now you're about to lose! I'll activate Graceful Charity, and draw 3 cards, then discard 2." he did this. "Next, I'll play, Creature swap! This means you have to trade me a creature, and I trade you one, you can have my facedown Cliff the Trap Remover(1200/1000) and since you have no other monsters, you have to give me your Black Tyranno!" Kou smirked.

* * *

"Alright Kou, you can win with that combo!" Shisei yelled, though he knew that Kou would only be in hot water after the fact.

"I told you he hadn't given up!" Namia cheered as well, surprising Shisei.

"What, do you have a crush-" he didn't get to finish the sentence before he was hit brutally (at least for a nerd) over the head with Namia's duel disk. "OW! Sorry, it was just a joke!" he rubbed his head and shut his mouth as Kou's struggle continued.

* * *

"Now to turn the table's! I'll now activate, Monster Reborn, to revive the Sword Hunter sent to the Graveyard due to my Graceful Charity!" he smirked yet again as the monster erupted from the earth, and it looked very angry.

"That monster may be able to break your defense, but I'll only get enough direct damage to harm me for a while!" Rex shouted. He was a little annoyed that he was going to lose some LP due to an amateur, but he knew he would win, so he didn't care.

"You wish! First Sword Hunter will attack the monster I gave you!" the creature unsheathed a large broadsword, and then slashed the defense monster with it. "Now your monster and my strike Ninja will directly attack your LP!" these monsters obliged too and Rex lost a lot of LP.

Kou-900

Rex-800

"Okay, I'm done, here's your monster." the monster reappeared on Rex's field.

"Thank you, now I'll summon my second Uraby(1500/800) and end this duel!" Rex shouted, completely sure that he had one the duel. His second Uraby appeared and the two monsters roared together. "Now, Black Tyranno, attack his pathetic Sword Hunter(2650/1700)! The creature rushed into unknown suicide, thenbitat the warrior, but the warrior lunged over it and stabbed straight down into the beast's neck.

"You lose, dino brains!" Kou cried in victory.

"WHAT! HOW DO YOU KEEP TRICKING ME!" Rex began to yank his hair in frustration at how his own monster was destroyed. "What card did you use!" he questioned. He didn't remember his opponent setting any trap or magic cards.

"I used my Sword Hunter's effect, when it destroys a monster in battle, it gets an extra 200 attack points!" Kou smiled. "So I destroyed my own monster with him, instead of using something weaker, so I could get the bonus, instead of bringing you down to 50 LP by attacking with Strike Ninja first." he smirked.

"Oh no, you made me lose." Rex realized, he had no cards in his hand and only a very weak Uraby on the field now. "How did you make me lose?" he questioned, as though he had gone into shock.

"I'll take that as you ending your turn, now I'll draw." he drew, but didn't look at the card. "Now where are all your insults? Oh well it doesn't matter, Sword Hunter(2850/1700) attack his Uraby!" the beast struck the Uraby hard, and the shockwave that resulted knocked Rex to the ground.

Kou-900

Rex-0

"YEAH! YOU WON!" Shisei jumped over the railing and hugged his best friend as the holograms disappeared.

"I knew you would!" Namia cheered as well, making Kou blush and Shisei sigh.

"You guys… Wait, I don't even know you, and you were cheering for me?" Kou asked as the logic of the situation dawned on him.

"Well yeah, but I couldn't believe the comebacks you pulled off, you deserve recognition for that." Namia blushed at her lame excuse, but Kou seemed to accept it.

"Now will the next 2 duelists please report to the dueling arena." the announcer's voice was heard.

"Well, I guess I'll see you 2 kiddies on the other side of victory, see ya!" Shisei stated, getting into the dueling arena and turning on his duel disk. However confident he tried to sound, however, he was ten times more afraid.

"Oh, looks like Rex isn't the only one who got to face an amateur, oh well, I won't lose." None other that the lime green haired Espa Roba stepped into the arena directly across from Shisei. "I'll let you have the first move, as I've foreseen your defeat!" he smirked as the holo projectors on his own duel disk shot out.

"Yeah, sure, then you might want to invest in a better brand of crystal ball." Shisei retorted as he drew his five cards, Espa only yawned in dissatisfaction and did the same.

Shisei-8000

Espa-8000

"DUEL!" the two cried, and the third duel of the Japan Regional had begun.

* * *

**Next time**: Espa Roba quickly loses the advantage that he would normally have, as Shisei's strategy is revealed, but he gets cut off by two simple card. Can he possible out think someone who can counter his entire deck? Find out next time on: Duel Monster Maximum! 


	7. Shisei’s first match: The Magic and Trap...

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. Unless you don't know who Rex Raptor is. 

_Chapter 7: Shisei's first match: The Magic and Trap deck_

"Alrighty then, all of you eager dueling fans, you're going to enjoy this next match (at least I hope you will) because its going to be a doozy of a match indeed!" the announcer shouted out to the fans as Shisei and Espa got ready to start.

"Come on Sei, you can do it!" Namia and Kou yelled at the same time. When Kou heard Namia cheer at the same time, he looked at her questioningly to receive a wink in return. After which he blushed and looked away.

* * *

"Show me if your truly worthy of your aura, Shisei Aragashi, if you are, then you and Kou both shall make the perfect appetizer." Higentaka stated, sitting in the same dark silent room. Things were heating up, and he intended to let them escalate, until the time was right to strike, and take his prize. He smiled maliciously again, and then proceeded to watch the match that, he personally, had been waiting for.

* * *

"Okay, amateur, now I'll show you how pathetic you are!" Espa started the insults immediately as his opponent, Shisei, drew his card.

"Okay, I'll set three cards face down and end my turn." Shisei stated, the brown back of the cards appeared hologram style, on the field.

Espa drew, then he smiled widely. "Alright, first I'll summon, Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200) in attack mode!" the creature, a sad looking witch holding a magical charm appeared and then it suddenly screeched and fell into a hole. Yelling as it was turned into digital dust. "What? Oh, a trap, right?" Espa asked, he was confused at first, but now he understood, his opponent had used a trap.

"Yep, so you can use your witch's effect, though it won't help you." Shisei stated, matter of factly.

"You wish!" Espa smirked as he removed the extra Jinzo(2400/1500) card that he had in his deck. "Now I'll set two cards face down and end my turn." he said.

"Alright, then I'll set another M/T face down and your move." Shisei replied, Espa raised an eyebrow at such a move, but then shook it off and drew.

"Alright, now I'll summon, Reflect Bounder (1700/1000) in attack mode, this'll heat things up, because now I'll activate, Limiter Removal, which'll double all machine monsters' attacks until the end of the turn, upon which time they will be destroyed." Espa explained as the monster, which was a bunch of mirrors in a cape, appeared on his side of the duel field. "Now my monster shall directly attack your LP!"

"Wow, and you called me an amateur! First I'll activate Draining Shield! This trap negates your monster's attack, plus I get the monster's attack points added to my LP!" Shisei smirked as his LP increased dramatically. "But now comes my next combo, activate, Ring of Destruction, and Barrel Behind the Door!" roared the blond duelist triumphantly, then he coughed from yelling so loud.

"Oh no!" Espa's eyes went wide as it dawned on him how much of a LP difference there was between them now.

Shisei-11400

Espa-1200

* * *

"Holy cow, he just turned Espa's LP to mush, and he made his seem godlike, all with three little cards!" Namia noticed.

"That kid does look good, but my Harpie's Feather Duster would tear his strategy apart." a voice sounded behind the other woman. Namia turned, and a smile broke out on her face. Kou, who had gone to get himself and Namia drinks, returned and promptly dropped the drinks as he began to stare at the new blond girls…Ahem, features.

"Mai! You made it!" Namia got up and hugged her girlfriend. This only made Kou stare more, then he shook it off enough to ask:

"Um, Namia, who in the world is this?" Kou questioned the other girl.

"Oh, Kou, your back." Namia noticed. "This is my friend, Mai, she and I have known each other for, well, forever." she replied.

"Hey there, Kou was it?" Mai smiled as she sat down next to the bewildered boy. "So you play Duel Monsters as well, eh?" she questioned, sliding over closer to the boy.

"Um, yes.. mam?" Kou stated nervously. Namia and Mai raised eyebrows at his nervousness, but then they only laughed hysterically as Kou started to wish Shisei was there with him.

* * *

"Well Espa, I'd say this match is just about over, wouldn't you?" questioned Shisei boldly. Espa growled and ended his turn.

"Alright, I'll set a card face down, that will bring my turn to an end." Shisei let the other boy go once again.

"You know you won't beat me! I'll summon Gear Golem, the Moving Fortress (800/2200) in defense mode!" yelled the Esp. wannabe. "Then I'll set two cards facedown. To end my move, I'll activate Graceful charity!" he drew three cards, and discarded two monster cards. "Okay, now I'm done." he ended his own turn and Shisei drew.

"Alright, I'll play, fissure, which destroys the weakest monster on the opponent's field, and that means that you lose your only defense." Sei stated, smirking. "But then again, I have almost no monster in my deck, oh well, heh-heh!" he continued stupidly, making Espa twitch in frustration. Then he smiled as the LP scores re calculated.

Espa-1200

Sei-10400

"Do you ever check to see if your losing, idiot?" Espa asked smirking. Sei looked over at the LP score and shrugged, he still had more than enough LP.

"So what happened?" Sei questioned.

"I activated these two cards, Grave Robber's Retribution, and Curse of Darkness." stated Espa Roba, matter of factly. "Grave Robbers Retribution allows me to inflict points of direct damage to your LP every one of my own Standby phases for how ever many monsters were removed from play so far. So its not your problem yet. While with Curse of darkness on the field, every spell card that is activated, will inflict 1000 LP of damage to the owner of the spell card!" Espa shook with laughter as his last card flipped. "And my last facedown card is the trap, Solemn Wishes! Now whenever I draw a card, I'll get 500 LP back!" Espa's laughter continued, he wouldn't need Jinzo to take down this punk.

Sei only snickered. "So your relying on that combo, you act like your going to get another draw phase." Sei stated, though he ended his turn.

"Alright, I draw, giving me another 500 LP! And I now activate, Spell Economics, now I don't pay LP for the effects of cards, so Curse of Darkness doesn't affect me!" Espa, who had apparently up taken a LP gain strategy, smiled evilly as he did so. "Next will be Soul Release, to remove the 5 monsters in my own graveyard from play, now Graverobber's Retribution will take its toll on your LP. Okay, now Ill summon, Inpachi (1600/1900) in defense mode, and that's it for me." he let Shisei go.

"Your really out of it, if you think 500 LP matters to me!" Shisei drew and frowned at the card, but set it anyways. "Okay, I'm done, go.

"Ah, the card I've been waiting for!" Espa stated as he drew. "First, Pot of Greed!" he drew and smirked. "Okay, and next comes Horn of light, to give my monster another 700 defense points!" his Inpachi's (1600/2600) defense rose again. "And then comes the magic card, Replay, but because of Spell Economics, I don't pay LP, and I'll reuse Pot of greed!" he drew twice more and his LP score jump up. "Then summon Des Scissors (1000/1000) in defense mode as well!" he smiled at his long and brilliant play. "Finally, this time for sure, activate, Chain energy, now to play or set cards from our hands will cost us 500 LP." Espa smirked.

"Oh crap!" Sei stated, his entire strategy was off now, to play or set cards cost him that many LP, and Espa also had 2 defense monsters.

"Your move!" Espa laughed at the look on his opponent's face as the LP score adjusted, in favor of Espa because of Solemn Wishes.

Espa-3700

Sei-9900

"Okay, I'll set," he twitched when he said the word "set" and the LP score adjusted. "these three cards facedown, and now I'm done." said Shisei.

"Alright, my move, I draw and get more LP!" Espa stated in satisfaction. "Now I'm done, so set more cards, or just lose because of Grave Robber's, which, by the way, makes you lose 500 LP during every one of my standby phases!" he continued his tirade as Sei drew.

Espa-4200

Sei-8400

* * *

"Okay, is it just me, or does Sei seem to be losing in one whole turn?" Kou asked the female duelists by his side.

"Like I said, your friend's strategy is good, just not good enough to ensure him victory, especially against a skilled duelist!" Mai stated matter of factly.

"Hey, Sei is good, he's just having a bit of a slump!" Kou sighed as he realized he should stop trying to make up excuses for the other boy and cheer him on. "Woah, I still can't believe Espa pulled such a good combo out of his hat in two turns." Kou stated, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Or maybe, he has a small deck, 3 of each of the cards he used, and Graceful Charity only helped him." Namia stated, then her and Mai both began to giggle and converse as though they were school girls. Kou sighed.

"Why me?" he questioned, looking up at the arena roof.

* * *

'Darn, nothing in my hand can help me, and even if I did have the other cards to use in these combos, it would only buy me a little time."' Sei thought, still upset over the fact that he was going to lose to Espa soon "I guess I'm done!" he stated.

"Good, then I'll just draw." he drew and the card made him smile. "Okay, Shisei, watch brilliance in work, I'll sacrifice my Des Scissors to summon, the mighty, Blowback Dragon (2300/1200) in attack mode!" the pair of evil looking scissors dissipated and were replaced by a dragon with a barrel gun for a head. "Now I'll use Blowback's special ability! I flip three coins," the holographic renderence of three un imaginable sized coins appeared. "if at least two of the results are heads, his effect works, and I get to destroy one card on the field! And I'm aiming for your middle facedown card!" he pointed to the card and the coins flipped. Heads, Head… "Well, looks like I didn't even need a third flip!" smiled Espa as Shisei's Magic Cylinder was destroyed, then another card flipped up.

"Alright, you made your point, now let me make mine!" shouted Shisei. He smirked as another of his facedown cards flipped into face up position. By destroying my Magic Cylinder, you've allowed me to activate Driving Snow, which'll allow me to destroy a magic or trap card!" he cried as he took the chance to gain the advantage. "The card I choose is your Chain Energy card, sorry about that!"

"You really do underestimate me, don't you! I'm not going to fall into a trap, instead, I'll activate my dragon's special ability for as many turns as it takes, until you have nothing left to protect you!" Espa stated, clearly not caring about losing his Chain Energy magic card as he ended his own turn.

Espa-4700

Sei-7900

"Fine, we'll see!" Sei drew and sighed. "I'm done, go." his turn ended.

"I'll activate my dragon's special ability again!" the coins flipped, landing on tails two time. "Oh well, can't win them all." stated Espa as he ended his turn.

Espa-5200

Sei-7400

'His LP count is closing in on mine fast, if only I could stop that…"' Sei thought as he drew another card to keep in his hand.

"Okay, I draw." Espa drew, he smiled yet again, and Sei felt like crying. "I'll first Summon Inpachi (1600/1900) in defense mode, and then I'll use my creature's special ability!" This time, the ability failed Espa, giving Shisei a bit more time to prepare for his opponent's full onslaught. "Your move." Espa finished.

Espa-5700

Sei-6900

'Hmm, why was he so happy to get another Inpachi on the field… Unless"' Higentaka Osmos sat in the same silent dark room, sweeping his hands through his silvery hair and debating whether Shisei Aragashi would win. Osmos was very interested in Mr. Aragashi, but so far, he had let down the audience and himself. 'If you don't win Shisei, then I'll have no use for you."' he smiled as he thought of what he did with people he had no use for.

"Alright, then, I'll activate, remove trap, on Curse of Darkness!" yelled Sei, happy he could do something. "Next I'll play Dian Keto to keep my LP the same, and finally, I'll set one card face down." he smiled at his play.

"Wow, good move, not!" Espa smirked as his opponent frowned in dissatisfaction.

"You know what, your scared, aren't you?" Shisei questioned Espa.

"What, where did that come from?" Espa raised an eyebrow at such a question.

"Otherwise you would have wiped me out last turn." frowned the blond.

"I'll show you, I'll first summon, Inpachi (1600/1900), in attack mode, this third monster will allow me to eliminate you!" stated Espa, Shisei only frowned. "Next, my other Inpachis will be switched to attack mode, and I'll also activate, Delta Attacker!" shouted the esp. duelist, this made Sei's eyes go wide. "That's right, delta attacker allows the three monster of the same name to attack your LP directly, so go, Inpachis, triple direct attack!" the Inpachis all began to glow as they powered up energy, then they all released the energy at the blond. "How's that for scared?" Espa smiled as he thought he had out witted his opponent.

Espa-6200

Sei-2100

"Not bad for bravery, but your stupidity level has jumped up a few notches!" Sei smirked as his face down card was revealed. "Say hello to fire tempest!" Sei yelled, shocking the other duelists. "This is a very powerful card, for you see, It has the ability to remove all monsters in each players' deck, hand and on the field from play, but only if I've taken 3000 or more LP damage in the turn. While that may seem nice, its actually going to hurt you!" Sei stated as a wind swept the monsters from their places.

"I thought you said I'm stupid, do you realize that this is more than 21 monsters?" he questioned rhetorically. "And if you do the math, you'll lose on my next Standby phase because of Retribution!" Espa smirked as he put the removed monster's in his back pocket.

"You wish, now that its my turn, I'll end this duel!" Shisei drew, but didn't look at the card, instead, he slipped another card from his hand and smiled as he played it. "Why do you think I have a card like Fire Tempest in my deck, if I can't get the monsters I remove back?" he questioned. Espa's eyes widened as Shisei played the card that brought him down by 2000 LP. "Activate, Return From a Different Dimension!" he smiled as his card shimmered up on the field. "Now I'll return the only five monsters in my deck, first, Dark Magician (2500/2100)," the first card was a tall sleek magician in a purple garmet, he had a lethal looking staff. "next, Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000), and he gets a power bonus due to his spell counter, which I'll remove and destroy Grave Robber's!" the blond made no facial expression as the trap on his opponent's field was destroyed. Espa gulped. "Now to continue my summoning, I'll summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700), again I'll special summon, this is the monster now, the mighty Buster Blader (2600/2200) in attack mode, and lastly, my best and favorite monster, The Magician Of Black Chaos (2800/2600) all in attack mode!" Espa whimpered as the field of Magicians and Warriors glared down at him menacingly. "Now my monsters, end this duel!" and then, they attacked, but Espa didn't hear it, he had already fainted from seeing such a comeback.

Espa-0

Sei-100

"Alright, Sei!" cheered Namia, Kou, and even Mai as Sei stepped off the platform.

"Thanks guys, but… someone catch me" Sei stated, and with that said, Kou caught his blond buddy, exhausted after such a win.

* * *

**Next Time**: The next few matches are announced, but our gang skips them, or at least Sei and Kou, and Kou is ambushed by men claiming he is their savior. Only problem is, he has to win a duel in the Shadow Realm to fulfill their expectations. Is this part of Osmos's plans? Find out on the next adventure of: Duel Monsters Maximum!

AN: Sorry for such a lame chapter, but I'm so tired right now, I couldn't think of a good duel, but to all of the main group fans, such as Joey, Kaiba, and Yugi, they will appear, just not in this tournament, oh, and please start reviewing. I don't really do the whole "I won't update if you don't review" thing, because I might not update for some other reason when I get like thousands of reviews (I hope I have that many one day) so just do it out of the goodness of your heart, and merry Christmas and a happy new year!


	8. Return of the Harpie Duelist

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. 

_Chapter 8: The return of the Harpie Duelist_

"Are you sure this is the guy?" a man wearing a black cloak faced another man, one with silver hair, and asked this question.

"Perfectly sure, that boy is no doubt the Savior of your people, all you have to do is challenge him and you'll see." the silver haired man smiled as he relayed the information to the cloaked man.

Both of the men were discussing the matter of the Savior of the "Perfect" race. It was directly after the match that Shisei Aragashi, the best friend of the "Savior," Kou. And the silver haired man, as most would expect, was none other than Higentaka Osmos, one of the top 20 duelists in the world, he was somewhere around number 14. The cloaked man, who sounded extremely disgruntled at the fact that the Savior was such and idiot, was about 5'6'' or so, with nothing visible on him other that his hands and a duel disk.

"Alright, just make sure you tell him to go to the area, then I'll test him, and if your wrong about him, then it'll be your life on the line as well!" the man threatened, but it was an empty threat, the man knew it he just hoped Higentaka didn't know about the mystical magic that could evoke a Shadow game. Higentaka only smiled and stood up, not seeming to hear the other man's threat.

"Trust me, you won't lose your "race"." he stated. And with the smallest bit of acknowledgement to hearing this, the clad in cloak figure left into the darkness of the night.

* * *

"Alright every one, as you can see, the next few matches have been posted…. "

Mai vs. Samos- Round 42 (note, there are side rounds after the first three matches, but they involve insignificant duelists… insignifigant in this story, anyway.)

Stopper vs. Clan- Round 43

Namia vs. Underground- Round 44

"And now that you've seen the next three matches, you shouldn't be surprised that we are beginning to cycle back through, soon only two duelists will be left, until that time, make sure you stay in the stadium." the announcer stated. "And now let the next match begin… as soon as the duelists enter the arena!" the announcer finished sheepishly. Samos was already there, looking extremely disgruntled, having to wait for the female duelist.

"Just disqualify her, she's taking to long!" he shouted angrily to the official rule man (forgot what their called, but the guy/girl that tells what will work and makes sure the LP adjustments are good)

"We have to wait the full 10 minutes, if she's not here in 3 more minutes, she's disqualified." stated the man, looking disgruntled himself.

"Sorry for making you wait, boys." An exact replica of the perfect model, only with slightly less expensive clothing appeared. The woman known as Mai Valentine, in her usual purple and white attire, hopped into the duel arena, smiling as her duel disk sent out the holo projectors. "But now I'm ready to duel." she finished. Both men had forgotten about the duel as the "goddess" walked into the arena, but now Samos was ready and waiting.

"Hey, I'd hate to make such a pretty chick lose, so why don't you just forfeit, and I'll meet you up in my room!" Samos winked at the blond. Some people booed, others (mostly other guys) cheered and clapped. But Mai only narrowed her eyes.

"I'm going to make a deal with you." she stated mischievously. Samos raised an eyebrow. "If you actually manage to deal me some LP damage, and I still sustain it by time the duel ends, then I'll humor you after the match." she winked a bit of her own before continuing. "But if you don't… then I want your rarest card, got that?" she questioned. Samos looked at her for a moment. He was nothing special, just your average jersey wearing college student, he was average height for his age, about 5'6" and had a bowl bang haircut. So this deal sounded incredible to him.

"Your on!" he smiled, and the duel began.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kouichi Nandao was waving a fan over his best friend's face, and hoping to revive him. "Sei, hello, anybody in there, Sei?" he questioned the body of a blond, shorter than most boys his age, boy. He was about to call it a lost cause and just leave him fainted outside of the stadium, but suddenly, Sei's eyes snapped open, looking directly into Kou's. "AGGH!" Kou yelled as he stumbled back from the shock of seeing the boy revive in an instant. "Whoa, warn me before you do something like that." he stated, but smiled none the less.

"Osmos." Sei said, sitting up. Kou cocked his head to the side, wondering why Sei would so suddenly say the name of his own personal rival (or at least that's how he thought of him.) Then Kou was practically forced to jump out of his skin again, as he heard and icy voice from behind him.

"Hello there, Mr. Nandao, Mr. Aragashi." the voice, as Sei had said, belonged to none other than the silver haired man himself. Shisei got up and glowered at the man. Ever since Shisei had seen Kou beaten and a man dragged into the Shadow Realm (though he didn't know that's what it was) he had the worst opinion of the crafty man.

"Hello, Mr. Osmos, how may we be of service to you?" questioned Shisei, with a tone of equal coldness.

"Do I detect a hint of malice, Mr. Aragashi?" he questioned, he leaned forward, getting right in Sei's face. Shisei's confidence seemed not to stretch far enough to respond, fortunately, Kou was brave enough to lend him a hand.

"You can detect whatever you want, doesn't mean its right!" Kou stated, he, for the first time in a while, prepared to unsheathe the blue dragon blade that he always carried with him, and had deemed, Blue Sorrow.

"Now now Mr. Nandao, please be civil, I'm not meaning to raise arguments are anything of the sort, I just wanted to inform you two of the extreme danger that your friend Namia is in." Higentaka stated, as calmly as though he was requesting a drink at a restaurant.

Kou immediately removed his hand from the sword, and Shisei stood up, glaring at the taller man angrily. "What- Did- You- DO!" Shisei questioned. He then did something very odd for him, he grabbed the man's collar, with mad, crazy thoughts in his head.

"Put me down, and I'll tell you." Higentaka stated, though he already had both of his feet on the ground (Shisei just isn't strong at all!) he liked to show exactly how much power he had to the foolish mortals, even when they had some ability. Sei obliged and backed up, looking a slight bit taller that before, he glared at the man named Higentaka Osmos.

"Alright, were listening." Kou said, rejoining his best friend.

"Now your female friend is being held hostage by a certain cult-" he was interrupted by and angry comment from Kou.

"You founded it, right?" he glared, Higentaka only smiled and continued.

"And because this cult thinks that you, Mr. Nandao, from watching your duels, are the savior of their dying race, they wish to test your leadership skills, so if you go to the Railway on the old Shinto pass, you'll find their leader, awaiting a duel." Higentaka stopped smiling. "I just thought I could be of some help." he flipped his silver hair, and turned and left the surrounding area.

"Well, I know where the Railway is, now the question is whether to believe him or not." Sei stated, he had been making a mental map of the place as he arrived on the bus the afternoon before. "But then again, if Namia is in danger, we should be able to save her in a duel." he pondered, not noticing that Kou had already started for the Railway. He looked up to ask Kou's opinion… "HEY, KOUUU!" he yelled running after his best friend.

* * *

"I'll start by summoning Harpies Brother (1800/600) in attack mode, and I'll set two cards facedown, now try and get at my life points!" Mai stated, as she readied herself for her opponent's, Samos', attack. "Oh, before I forget, I'll also activate Pot of Greed." she finished by nonchalantly sliding two cards from her deck

"With pleasure, toots, Now I'll Summon, Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer (1800/700), in attack mode, and I'll lay one card face down." he motioned for Mai, the "toots" to make the next move.

Mai drew, then she smiled happily. "Alright , buddy boy, now meet my second Harpies Brother (1800/600) in attack mode, and now I'll activate, Aqua Chorus!" she continue the almost evil smirk at the poor unsuspecting Samos.

"So what, did you forget, I set a card as well, and it just so happens to be the card that can save me from your monsters." he stated.

"You don't even know what my trap card does, do you?" Mai questioned with a frown on her face. When Samos thought, for a while, he came up with the answer… no. Mai sighed. "I'm going to have to tell you then, now won't I?" she smiled once again and motioned to her Harpies Brothers. "Whenever there are two or more monsters of the same name on the field, each and every one of those monsters… Get a 500 attack point boost!" she smiled as both of her monster's attack power jumped up. "Now get ready for another great card, one I like to call, Harpie's Feather Duster!" she slid the card into her duel disk and let its effect pass over her opponent's facedown card, which was immediately destroyed. "Next, I'll play the field magic card, Rising air Current, Increasing the attack of all wind monsters by 500 points, though it decreases their defense by 400 points." A gale suddenly picked up, and the duelists were left trying to hang on to their cards as much as possible. "Finally, I'll play fissure, destroying your last defense, now my monsters, direct attack!" Mai shouted triumphantly. The monsters charged in, and gave a few good slashes and pecks to their mistresses' opponent, and smiled while doing so.

Mai-8000

Samos-3200

Samos gulped, and drew his card.

* * *

"This has got to be it." stated Shisei, as he looked up at an old, rickety railway station, it had numerous faults and was falling apart, but the boys had found it.

"Welcome, our dear Savior!" came a voice, suddenly, light filled the area, and the two boys realized they were surrounded by men in dark, dank looking cloaks. "I wouldn't try and escape, if I were you." a certain cloaked figure walked from behind a couple of barrels, he was the only one of the lunatics that wore a duel disk. Kou, seeing this, readied his own. "Ah, you've heard of the situation, no doubt?" said the man, as he stepped closer.

"Yeah, and if I win our duel, then you let Namia come with us, to the safety of the tournament, got it?" it was stated as though a demand, not a question. The figure smiled maliciously, suddenly, Kou and the figure were alone, in a sphere of darkness. "WHAT THE FU?" this was a loud question, but a question none the less.

"You've been brought into the Shadow Realm, a dimension where the stakes of the duels can become incomprehensible, are you sure you still want to duel?" he snickered a bit at the look on Kou's face.

"Yeah, I'll duel you, no matter what, I will get Namia back!" he stated, as fierce as a lion in this matter. "So get ready, cause I'm going to chop you down!" he drew his five cards.

"Yes, and if you lose," he removed his hood to reveal a skull. "THEN I GET YOUR BODY AND SOUL!" the skull screeched. Kou yelped in surprise, and then steadied his cards as the skull prepared to duel.

* * *

"Whoa, I really didn't expect you to do this badly, badly, yes, but this is just shocking." Mai stated, watching the boy struggle with his decision of what to do.

"If you continue to mock me, I'll just have to finish you off, I'll activate, Cost down, and summon Labrinth Wall (0/3000) in attack mode, and I'll equip him with Magical Labyrinth, and set one card face down, your move." Samos stated, confident that this strategy would work.

Mai drew. "Sorry to disappoint you, but your plans are going to go down hill, now I'll summon, Cyber Harpie (1800/1300), and the bonus gives her a higher attack, combo that with Cyber Shield and Black Pendant, and my monster has a total attack of 3300!" the audience stared in awe as Mai finished her power ups, and got ready for her onslaught. "Now my monsters, devastated him!" she shouted in enthusiasm.

"Nice try toots but I'm activating my Negate Attack trap, now your battle phase is negated!" Samos breathe a sigh of relief as he drew his next card. Mai only shrugged and tapped her foot impatiently as Samos drew. "Aha! Now I have the card that can defeat you! Behold, Shield and Sword!" he smirked at his "incredible move", and the attack and defense values of the monster's switched. "Now I'll activate and equipment magic card of my own Twin Swords of Flashing Light – Tryce!" two glowing blades, crackling with lightning, embedded themselves into the labyrinth, and glowed with energy. "Now my Labriynth can attack twice in the same battle phase, at the cost of 500 of it's attack points, and now I'll summon, Great Angus (1800/600) in attack mode, now my Labyrinth Wall shall attack your two Harpies Brothers (200/2700)!" the glowing swords sent surges of lightning down the path of the arena, towards the brothers, who jumped the lightning, but were cornered as the Wall stretched limitlessly to the sky, and they were soon crushed, trying to escape. "Now my Angus (1800/600) will tear your Cyber Harpie (900/3200) apart!" the beast ferociously slashed the female harpie into cold cuts. "Looks like I'll be in the finals and get some action, huh?" he smirked and ended his turn. Mai didn't seem to care though, she just drew.

Mai-2500

Samos-3400

"Alright, laughing boy, now I'm really going to show you!" Mai drew, she slapped the card down emotionlessly. "Now I play Replay, and split my LP to reuse Pot of Greed!" she drew twice more, silently hoping… She smiled so widely that she could have split her face that moment. "Now I'll summon, White Magician Pikeru (1200/0) in defense mode, and then I'll activate, Card of Demise, which lets me draw five cards, only in five turns, I discard my hand, not like it matters." Mai stated, she drew and the smile only grew. "Now I'll activate, Dian Keto the Cure Master, and Poison of the old man, to increase my LP by 2200, and end my turn with one card facedown." Mai smiled as the duel seemed to be going her way again.

Mai-3750

Samos-3400

"It won't matter, you'll lose your midgician (get it, midget, and magician? HAHAHAHA! I crack my self up!) as soon as I attack!" Samos drew and set the card. "Now my creature, attack that Pikeru!" the Angus rushed forward, only to be met by a symbol of a hero.

"What's your rush, you don't want to play a little?" Mai asked maliciously. "Now I activate, A Hero Emerges, this trap means you get to pick a card from my hand, and if that card is a monster, its summoned and can take your attack, if not, then I discard it." Mai stated simply. Samos swore under his breath and chose the right card. "Sorry sugar, but you chose my Harpies Pet Dragon (2500/2100) and he also gets the bonus!" Mai blew a kiss as Great Angus was blown away by the dragon's furiously beating wings. "Now its my turn, and you'll see the true power of my deck!" Mai stated, as she drew her next card, not caring about Samos switching his Labyrinth Wall (0/3000) into defense mode. "And since Pikeru's effect gives me 400 LP for each monster I have during my standby phase, your not going to see me after the match!" she laughed hysterically as the score readjusted.

Mai-4550

Samos-2800

Samos gulped once again.

_To be continued…_

**Next time**: Kou starts the match against a man that has deemed himself "The Skull" and is immediately in the lead, but the dark power of the Shadow Realm has a few surprises for Kou. Plus, Mai and Samos continue, the duel being locked in fierce LP gain and Drop, who's going to win? Find out next time on Duel Monsters Maximum!


	9. Death by Zombie

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. 

_Chapter 9: Death by Zombie_

Kou looked at the skull figure with determination in his eyes. "I don't know what you are, are where we are, but I don't care, I want Namia back!" he stated, as he drew his five cards. "So be prepared to lose! I'm first!" he declared, the skull only shrugged as Kou drew his sixth card.

"Oh, and you may call me… SKULL!" he turned his head a full circle, and laughed maniacally.

* * *

Shisei looked at the sphere of all encompassing darkness. Then he looked around at the two "men" that had revealed their own skull heads. He sighed. 'I hope you can win, Kou, cause if you can't… Namia's not the only one you might need to save.'" Sei thought, as he sat down and began to modify his deck.

* * *

"I'll summon, Mataza the Zapper (1300/800) and set one card facedown."A mighty looking warrior with a steady blade appeared, and behind him appeared a brown back card. "Let's see if you stand a chance." Kou stated menacingly, now with his fangs bared.

"I shall, young Savior, I summon, Soul Absorbing Bone Tower (400/1500) in defense mode, and I'll set two cards facedown, end turn." a gigantic tower made completely of skulls, appeared, and two cards also appeared on his side of the field.

"Alright, then I'll show you the mistake you just made, such a weak defense won't stand a chance against my Mataza." shouted Kou, as he switched his Mataza into defense mode. "Now that my Mataza is in defense mode, I'll activate, Zero Gravity, and switch the modes of all monsters!" Kou smirked as the Bone Tower and Mataza were switched into attack mode. The skull man only shrugged once again. "Now, Mataza, attack that bone tower!" the warrior lunged happily, ready to tear the now swaying and blowing bone tower, then, suddenly, a trio of robed people came up to absorb the attack, all chanting, until Mataza returned to Kou's side of the field, shaking its head. "Waboku, oh well, I'll get you next turn." Kou stated, then his eyes went wide as a huge Coffin like item appeared on his opponent's field. "WHAT IS THAT!" he asked.

"Ah, so you noticed, I activated another trap on your turn. This one being deemed, The First Sarcophagus!" he smiled as Kou gave him a clueless look. "You see, there was once a pharaoh. This pharaoh ruled over the land of Egypt for the longest, but, alas, he was still only human." the skull began.

"Sorry, but I noticed, your looking through your deck, and since you kind of aren't allowed to do that… THEN YOUR FREAKING DISQUALIFIED!" Kou yelled. The Zombie only continued searching his deck, and then went on with the story.

"This mighty human pharaoh, had to die eventually." he apparently found the card he was looking for, and then inserted it into the duel disk. "Now when he died, his people sealed his body… his power in three different Sarcophagi, each containing a little more." he looked up, with malice seeming to leak from his eye sockets (remember, no eyes) and another hologram of another sarcophagus appeared behind his tower. "Now, during each of your end phases, I'll gain Sarcophagi, until I can summon the ultimate monster, and I only need one more!" he snickered, and summoned another landform. "Until then, my tower will have some fun, as I summon, Castle of Dark Illusions (920/1930) and he increases the attack and defense of all Zombies until four of my own Standby phases are up!" he smirked as his tower glowed brighter… or grew gloomier, as its attack and defense shot up (600/1700). "Finally, my Bone tower will be switched to defense mode, end turn." the skull stated, motioning for the warrior duelist to go.

"Fine by me, I'll destroy your creepy skeletons, and then mash your own skull in." Kou drew.

* * *

Mai Valentine, who was currently involved in a duel against a chump of a duelist, Samos, smiled as her Harpie's Pet Dragon (2500/2100) finished licking its lips, and prepared for another meal. "Now that its my turn, I'll Summon my second, Cyber Harpie (2300/900) and then I'll activate Monster Reborn, to revive my other Cyber Harpie (2700/900)!" the monster flew down and landed from above, looking a bit ruffled, but otherwise fine. "This gives my Harpies an extra 500 attack because of Aqua Chorus, and also gives my Dragon an extra 1000 attack points!" the Harpie Ladies smiled and began to pet the dragon making it roar with newfound strength (3500/2100)." Mai smiled at her brilliant play, though it severely depleted her hand, she did what she needed. "I now attack your Labyrinth Wall (0/3000) with Pet Dragon (3500/2100)," the dragon happily obliged, and sent a gigantic fireball to destroy the wall that blocked the other duelist. "And now I'm done." Mai finished, blowing a kiss.

'Blast, she's trying to avoid coming with me after the match!"' Samos realized, that was the only reason she would do such a thing, to increase her LP. ' I could destroy that Pikeru, but I should wait until I can get enough of a back up strategy to stall!"' he thought. "Now I'll set a monster in defense, your move." the card mysteriously appeared on his side of the field and Mai drew.

"I'll activate, Elegant Egotist, which will let me special summon one of my Harpie Lady Sisters (2450/1700) in attack mode!" yet another bird woman appeared and smiled evilly at poor Samos. Mai then ended her turn.

Mai-6150

Samos-2800

"Alright, I'll play another defense monster, and end my turn." Samos stated, as he realized that next turn, the "midgician" would restore Mai's LP to full. He sighed.

"Okay, now its time to finish you!" Mai smiled as her LP shot up to above the 8000 mark. "First, I'll attack your defense monster's with my Harpie Lady Sister's and one of my Cyber Harpies." the two creatures flipped forward gracefully and slashed the monsters in two. "Finally, I'll attack with my Harpie's Pet Dragon (4000/2100) and end this duel!" the Dragon's lethal wing attack knocked the defensive duelist down to 0 LP. "And that's a rap!" Mai stated as the hologram disappeared. Samos sighed and began to look for his rarest card, as the LP scores disappeared.

Mai-8150

Samos-0

"Here it is, my Millennium Shield (0/3000) and good duel, I thought I'd won!" he stated. Mai looked at the card, then muttered something about Yugi rubbing off on her.

"Look kid, I don't want your card, just don't think you can beat me again, okay?" she questioned Samos looked up, surprised and took his shield back. "Now, I'm out of here." stated the sexy duelist, leaving the arena behind.

"Whoa, now that was shocking upset, and now, the next match, get ready for…

* * *

Kou looked at the skull of a man with a smirk of righteousness. "I will not let you harm Namia, and with the card I just drew, you can't win!" Kou slid the card into the magic/trap card zone. "I play, the Black Luster Ritual!" a black shield with two warrior blades crossed in front of it appeared and began to glow as righteously as Kou himself. "And I'll offer my Fiend Megacyber, and my Warrior of Zera from my hand, to summon, The Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500) in attack mode!" perhaps the mightiest warrior of duel monsters appeared on Kou's side of the field. It wore golden armor, and had a long curved blade, and it was ready to slice and dice. "Now, Black Luster, attack his Castle (920), which was left in attack mode!" the mighty warrior leapt from his spot and slashed downward on the Castle of Illusions.

Kou-8000

Skull- 5920

"Ha, that was pathetic, and now I'm going to show you how come, you done?" Skull questioned as evil sounding as ever.

"Yeah, so you can take your Sarcophagus, but my Soldier has way to many attack points to be destroyed, so that coffin's effect will be useless!" Kou stated, almost completely sure that there was no monster in his opponent's deck that could overcome, or even rival, his Soldier.

"If your so sure, then I'll just have to finish my move." he smiled mischievously. "First, I'll activate, Ultimate offering!" a card that showed the owner of several monsters losing quite a bit of himself, flipped. "Now I'll pay 500 LP to normal summon or set twice this turn, If I so choose." he smirked, as his LP score dropped, and he slid a card into the duel disk.

Kou-8000

Skull-5420

"I'll first summon, Double Coston (1700/1650) and then I'll tribute it, to summon, Despair from the Dark (2800/3000) in attack mode!" he smirked as his first Zombie was replaced by a shadowy specter from the deep.

"HOLD IT!" Kou yelled, looking at the data of the monster on his opponent's side of the field. "You have to offer two monsters to summon a level 8 monster like that!" he smiled as he thought he had caught his opponent in a bad play.

"Ah, but that's the special ability of my Coston, when I use it as a tribute to summon a dark monster, I can count it as two tributes, sorry!" the evil man yelled to his disgruntled opponent. "And now, on with my move, I'll activate the ability of my Sarcophagi, and special summon, the ultimate, the deadly, the Spirit of the Pharaoh (2500/2000)!" the mighty monster appeared, trudging like mummy to the field. "And next, to get rid of your soldier, I'll activate, Dark Designator!" he smiled as it dawned on Kou what card he must have wanted him to remove. "That's right, I'll take your Shield and Sword card, and the way I'll due so, is by playing exchange (I know I've used it before, but I love the combo!)" Kou rudely tossed the card to him. "Now, I'll play the card you so generously gave me, and switch attack and defense!" the Darkest Specter, the Despair, grew even eviler looking, as it's attack grew, and the other monsters except the Bone Tower, shrunk. "NOW, DESTROY HIS SOLDIER, MY DESPAIR!" the dark shadow launched its attack and destroyed his opponent's soldier. "And finally, my mighty Spirit of the Pharaoh (2000) attack his pathetic Zapper!" the second Zombie charged and reduced Kou's LP by destroying his Mataza (1300)

Kou-6800

Skull-5420

'Darn, now he has two super strong monsters on the field!"' Kou noticed. He reached to draw his card, but then a ghostly hand smacked his hand away, and sent two cards from the top of his deck, to the graveyard. "HEY, WHAT'S THE DEAL!" yelled Kou angrily, as he got a peek of his Sword Hunter (2450/1700) being discarded to the graveyard.

"With my Bone Tower on the field (1700) then whenever a Zombie monster is special summoned successfully, you lose the top two cards of your deck, sorry!" Skull explained, making Kou growl in rage.

"Okay, if that's the way you want to play it, then I'll use the effect of Ultimate Offering, since I don't have a monster yet, I don't pay LP!" Kou yelled, as he slid his first monster onto the slot. "So I'll first summon, Axe Raider (1700/1150) in attack mode!" an axe wielding warrior appeared and looked up at the Zombies with little, if any fear in his eyes. "Now for my next trick, behold, my favorite monster, Total Defense Shogun (1550/2500) in attack mode, only when he's summoned, I can switch him into defense to attack!" the mighty Shogun, wielding his large broadsword and wearing his Shogun armor appeared. "Finally, I'll equip my Shogun, with Horn of the Unicorn, to increase his attack and defense by 700 points." the shogun's blade glowed with the new power that was added to its being. "And now I'm done!" he smirked.

"Nice play, young Savior, but I'm going to have to show you how real men do it!" he drew his card. "Now I'll set one card face down and then I'll end my turn." he stated.

"Nice, real nice, now I'll play, warrior Returning Alive!" Kou smirked at his draw and took his card, the Mataza warrior, back from the graveyard. "Now I can take any warrior type monster back from my graveyard, and add it to my hand, I choose Mataza the Zapper!" he smiled as he slipped the card in between the other cards in his hand. "End turn." he stated.

Skull drew. "I'll activate, Mystic Wok, and offer my Despair from the Dark (2800/3000), to increase my LP by it's defense!." Skull slid the card into his duel disk, and ended his turn. Kou drew.

Kou-6800

Skull-8420

"I'm activating, Card of Sanctity!" he smirked as the card was added to his duel disk, and he drew more cards. "Now we each draw until we have six cards in our hands!" he smiled at his play. "Now get ready for a beaten!" he continued, taking two cards from his hand and inserting them into the duel disk. "First, I'll use the effect of Ultimate Offering again, and then I'll summon, Throwstone Unit (900/2000) in defense mode!" the unit of men appeared, looking eager to kill someone. "And then I'll equip my Total Defense, with Axe of Despair!" the Shogun was suddenly holding a wicked looking axe, looking at the Pharaoh menacingly "Next up, I'll attack your Spirit of the Pharaoh (2500/2000) with my Total Defense Shogun (3250/3200)" the mighty Shogun flipped in the air, and then came crashing down on the head of it's opponent with it's blade.

Kou-6800

Skull-7670

"Nice play boy, but your still not up to par!" stated Skull, thinking his opponent was through.

"Hey, I'm not done yet, I'll now play, Rollback, so I can roll my turn all the way back to Main phase one!" he slid the card into the disk's magic and trap zone, and the effect went through.

"I can't believe you're the Savior of our people, you can't even duel well." the Skull sighed.

Kou blanched, then got up and glared at him. "Hey, what do you mean by that!" he pouted.

"Even if your back to Main Phase One, you still can't attack with your Shogun, or summon another time,Rollbck just let's you activate cards like Cold Wave, in case you missed your chance, foolish boy." Skull explained.

"You forget, I can attack with another monster still, and soon, I'll do that, but for now, I'll use my Throwstone Unit's effect, and offer my Total Defense Shogun as a tribute, to destroy your bone tower!" The unit of armored menloaded up the Shogun, who looked as brave as ever, and shot him over to the opponent's field to destroy the giant tower. The tower itself, upon being hit by the Shogun, promptly fell to bony pieces. Skull's skull made no change as he watched. "And Horn of the Unicorn automatically returns to the top of my deck, yet I'll offer my Unit, to return Axe!" he smiled as the Throwstone Unit was swept away by the axe, as it shot like a boomerang, back to the top of Kou's deck.

"Your wasting time, boy." the Skull told him. "You'd have to wait two turns before that card will be of any use to you, and unfortunately, you won't have two turns when you end your turn!" he threatened.

"Tsk, tsk tsk," Kou shook his head. "You make it sound like I'm already out, big mistake!" he slid a card into his duel disk, and a pot with a greedy looking face appeared. "Say hello to Pot of Greed!" he drew two cards, as per the effect of the magic card. "And I'll now draw these two cards. Hmm, I wonder what they could be." he elaborated, as he put yet another card into the Duel disk. "Finally, I'll summon Mataza, the Zapper, and I'll activate both of my equipment cards on him!" his ever returning monster appeared, a little disgruntled, but otherwise fine. "Now my Zapper is going to blast away 6000 of your LP, now Mataza (3000/1500) direct attacks!" the mightier warrior slammed the axe of despair down twice on Skull, and then reported back to Kou. "End turn!" Kou shouted, as triumphantly as ever.

Kou-6800

Skull-1670

Skull, who had fallen to the ground after the attacks, looked up, with flames in his… err sockets. "HOW DARE YOU! YOU INFEDEL!" the "Savior" crap was forgotten as he drew and activated his trap. "FOR YOUR MOCKERY OF MY SKILLS, MY RACE YOU SHALL PAY!" his quick play magic card, a Deal with the Dark Ruler, flipped, and the ground began to rumble. "NOW, RUN IN FEAR, AS I SUMMON, THE ULTIMATE! THE UNSTOPPABLE!" Kou thought his own eyes were going to come out of his sockets, he looked at the huge, dead dragon in shock, as it emerged from the ground. Then he saw its attack reading. "NOW YOU BEHOLD, THE BERSERK DRAGON (3500/0)!" the beast appeared, glaring down at the mighty warrior known as Mataza. Mataza looked as though it was going to cry, then, with a sickening CRUNCH it was gone,as well as 500 of Kou's LP. "YOU LOSE!" the skull cried. Kou only continued to stare.

Kou-6300

Skull-1670

* * *

"Well well well, what do we have here? Kouichi Nandao, going up against the all powerful Berserk Dragon?" Osmos smiled, looking straight through the sphere of darkness, standing over a sleeping Shisei.

"Yes, it appears Maester Donovan has summoned the mighty Berserk Dragon, that boy might not be the Savior after all." said one of the skulls that was guarding Shisei.

"Yes… Oh well, I tried." Higentaka said, faking sadness. He continued to look at the sphere. 'Now Mr. Nandao, show me, can you beat the mighty Berserk Dragon… when its not just a hologram!"' he thought to himself, as he watched Kou's struggle on the inside of the sphere.

_To be Continued.

* * *

_

**Next time**: With the battle heating up, Kou manages to pull another lucky move out of his hat, but then the true terror of Skull's deck emerges, and with so little to defend him, Kou may just lose… But you'd have to read the next chapter to find out, so keep reading Duel Monsters: Maximum!

A/N: Hello, um yeah, I really need feedback, so yeah…. REVIEW GOSH DARNIT!


	10. The new player

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. So you better not recognize Shisei and Kouichi! 

_Chapter 10: The New Player_

Kou backed away from the vastly impressive dragon, it was huge and scaly, with scales made of rotting meat, and the rest was no picnic. The smell of the dragon was insanely nauseating as well. He was about to just plain out faint, but before doing so, he managed to squeeze out: "H-h-how?" he looked back at the beast's owner, who had just ended his turn.

"Simple, you pathetic excuse for a warrior, when a level 8 or higher monster is sent from my side of the field to the graveyard, I can activate the quick play magic card, A Deal with the Dark Ruler. Then I can summon my Berserk Dragon." he smiled.

"But, you had to have played that card in your last turn, I didn't destroy a level 8 monster, you used Mystic Wok!" Kou realized.

"Ah, yes, but that was where my Inter dimensional Matter Transporter comes into play, I activated it at the start of your last turn!" Skull smirked at his ingenious plan to throw his opponent out.

"Oh well, I can still win, your dragon only has 3500 attack p-" he looked at the Dragon with shock as its attack points dropped to 3000. "Your dragon just lost some attack points, man." he stated, as he drew his card.

"Alas, power comes with a price, as my creature loses 500 attack points on my end phases."Skull looked at his dragon with disdain.

'If it loses attack points, then maybe I can get rid of it, unfortunately, I only have one monster, and if I summon it, I'll lose too many LP"' Kou contemplated. "I'll end my turn with one card facedown." he set his one card. 'have to bluff."' he thought.

"Now then, allow me to show you the great power of Zombies!" Skull drew his card and placed another monster into attack mode on the duel disk. "Say hello… or goodbye, to my Vampire Lady (1550/1550)!" the mists in the shadow realm hid the monster from view… until…

"OUCH!" Kou jumped in surprise as he felt his neck being pierced. "What in the world!" he looked behind him to see the pale and smiling evilly, woman.

Skull laughed menacingly. "Now then, as you have most certainly noticed, the effects of the shadow realm can become a little to strong." he smiled menacingly once more, as his dragon readied itself. "My Vampire Lady not only gives you a good deal of damage, but when you take damage from her, you must select one card of the type I choose from your deck and send it to the graveyard." he motioned to his smirking Vampire. "So I think I'll have her suck a monster card out of you!" he snickered as Kou selected a monster card and deposited it into the graveyard slot of his disk. "Now for the next step, Berserk Dragon (3000/0) directly attack!" the dragon took a huge breath, and then blew an awful smelling gas at Kou through its nostrils.

Kou gagged and fell to the floor, the noxious gas making his stomach ache. "Woah, hate to have t-t-that thing f-f-or a pet!" he smiled weakly. 'Woah, I'm gonna faint, how come I suddenly feel so weak?"' he questioned himself, trying to keep his eyes open.

Skull smiled and clapped his bones of hands, watching the boy struggle. "Ah, looks like even the Holy Savior cannot withstand the full force of the Shadow Realm!" he snickered as Kou got up with holy anger in his violet eyes.

"I-WILL-NOT-LOSE!" he placed his hand on his deck, and drew his card.

* * *

Osmos looked at the deep black of the sphere which covered the warrior in darkness. "Ah, I see now." he stated, he turned to the sentry he spoke to earlier. "Yes, I hope you don't truly want your Maester back…" he stated, looking at the literally dead man standing over Shisei.

"Wh-what do you mean?" the now cloaked figure looked at Osmos in surprise. Higentaka Osmos was more than well-known in business and the darker sides of things, he was deadly powerful and very influential. So it was no surprise that this threat brought fear to the poor low life (or death) sentry. He thought Osmos was threatening them.

"I mean he's about to lose, and what's left of him will expire as per the rulings of the Shadow game." the business man stated simply. The lackey's mouth opened in surprise. "Now, though, I shall take my leave of you." he strode away, as though he had talked about nothing more than an interesting game of baseball. Leaving the sentry scared to death, but with no way of seeing through the black sphere into the Shadow Game between his Maester and Kouichi Nandao.

* * *

Kou-1750

Skull-1670

'Come on, focus, focus!"' Kou kept telling himself, but it was just so hard to focus when the weight of your eyelids seemed to have doubled in the past minute. "I'll… um" he looked at his hand, the tiredness sweeping through him made him as useless as his first duel in the Laundromat. His thoughts drifted to that day, the day he had discovered duel monsters. 'No, think about the present, think about saving Namia!"' he told himself. 'I have a winning combo, but I can't focus to see it!"' he desperately tried again to play a card, but he couldn't.

"Don't take all day now, the tiredness won't wait for long, you'll eventually lose to it and then you'll be in no position to duel. So you might as well not exhaust your soul more." Skull tapped his foot impatiently. Kou listened to him and then began to contemplate what his opponent had said.

"My… Soul?" he questioned, falling to one knee, his gaze unfocused.

"Yes my dear boy, that is the whole purpose of this duel, for me to claim your soul through the power of the shadow realm." Skull explained this as though it were obvious.

"But… no soul… will I be alive… if I lose!" he questioned, more to himself than his Zombie opponent, but the zombie explained this anyway.

"You will not be alive, not in the sense your thinking, anyway." he stated simply, then decided to elaborate on his explanation. "Now then, you will have the ability to move, talk, and even think. But you thoughts, movements and talk will be robotic, you will be no more than a puppet, with no dreams, no ambition, and without love." he stated, smirkingly.

Kou looked up into the eyes of his opponent, feeling his eyelids close, feeling sleep overtake him. His cards slipped from his hands and landed in front of him in a mess in front of him. "No, Namia!" he then fell to the floor in a faint.

"Well now, looks like it was true, you lose, and I get to use your soul to bring the entire tribe back… So sad really, I was hoping for a challenge." Skull sighed and began to remove the cards from his duel disk. Just as he touched his Vampire Lady, there was a stir of movement.

"Quitting?" a voice projected the question harshly from directly across the area. This voice was much harsher and darker than Kouichi's.

Skull turned immediately to see… "Who are you!" he questioned. The figure facing him looked slightly more menacing than Kou, and he smiled so evilly you could swear he was a devil in disguise. Kou's once blue hair was now a shining silver color. His violet eyes were now a piercing golden, and they were slitted, like an angry creature. His fangs had elongated and whoever was using his body now had a much more evil look in his eyes than Kou had ever worn.

"Me? I'm no one important." he shrugged the question off, making a motion with his hand as if to say forget it, revealing long claws. He then looked up with a stony expression in his eyes that made him appear to be more evil that Skull, and asked. "So then will you answer my question? Are you quiting?" he repeated, watching the zombie fidget in his space.

"No, but as my opponent is unable to duel, then I seem to have won…" he looked at the figure questioningly.

"I can duel just fine, thank you!" Kou's body flexed his muscle as if to show that he was ready to kill. "And I'll show you now!" the figure picked up the cards Kou had dropped and deposited them into his right hand. "So if you don't duel me, you lose, as per rules of the Shadow Realm!" he smirked, waiting for a response.

Skull cursed under his breath. Whoever this figure was, he knew quite a deal about the Shadow Realm, his rulings were correct, anyway. Since the shadows of the realm swallowed the soul of the loser, if he didn't end the duel once and for all against this guy, the realm would consider him a loser, and take his soul… or what was left of it anyway. "FINE! The stake's of this duel are still on, go!" he glared at the figure.

"Alright, now I can have some fun. Summon, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in attack mode!"A mighty warrior in ancient clothing appeared and raised his sword, ready to strike. "Then I'll activate my facedown card, the black pendant!" the creature that stood in front of Kou's body was suddenly wearing an ornate pendant, which upped its attack power (1900). "This gives my creature the ability to be impervious to damage!" he smiled. "And I'll attack your Vampi- what the hell!" the figure looked confused at the spot that the Vampire lady once stood. She was standing directly beside the Berserk dragon, but suddenly she was gone.

"Oh don't worry, I just decided my creature should have a bit of a make over!" Skull pointed maliciously to the same area of the duel field. The shadows began to converge and suddenly, his Vampire appeared again. This time though, it had more than a familiar face…

* * *

Floating in the black of his own sleep, Kou suddenly felt a jolt of horror, as though he was being shocked. He peeked open an eye… only to discover he was more than sleeping, he was floating around in the midst of his own soul. In front of him, looking like a window, was and eye, and through it he saw his monster and his opponent's monsters. "Oh my god!" he looked as though he might faint from disbelief. Then, upon closer inspection, he realized what had given him the jolt, and he looked at the face of Namia where the Vampire Lady's face should be with horror. "NAMIA!" he yelled, he began to beat against the window, then stare around wildly for a door to escape, to save Namia.

* * *

The figure that inhabited Kou's body could feel the boy trying to wrench himself out of his own soul room to join Namia. 'Guess I better talk to him."' he thought, closing his eyes and receding into Kou's soul.

"Well, how do you like my creature's new face!" Skkull laughed manically again, completely oblivious to the fact that his opponent was deep in his own soul.

* * *

"NAMIA!" Kou yelled again, not seeing the silver haired figure approach him from behind. Suddenly he was thrown against the wall with a hand pressed to his throat.

"WOULD-YOU-SHUT-UP!" the figure glared at the shocked Kou.

"Who-" Kou managed, before the figure dropped him, letting him cough on the floor. "Who are you!" he asked after his coughing fit.

"WHY DO THEY ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS!" the figure lifted his hands exasperated.

"You act like it's a personal question, I just wanted ot know so I could… well, thank you." he stated sheepishly.

"Oh… Well you don't need to, just leave it at that." his silver haired counterpart stated. He then closed his eyes, focusing on placing himself back inside Kou's new body. Then, peeking open a slitted, golden eye, he added: "Don't worry, your girlfriend will be okay." and he disappeared.

Kou stared at the spot where the mysterious new duelist had been just moments before. His fist balled, and he raised them, as well as his voice to shout. "SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!"

* * *

Skull twiddled his thumbs, feeling as though he was waiting for the doctor in a crowded waiting room. A crowded waiting room was appropriate because in the absence of the normal dueling noises, there were thousands, of annoying, chirping, insanely loud cricket! "ARGH! WHAT IS TAKING YOU SO LONG!" Skull, still unknowing that his duel opponent had long since receded into his body's soul, thought it was taking him a long time to think of his move.

"Sorry, just had to think how fast I wanted to take out a coward," the previously quiet and thinking figure inhabiting Kou's body stated, opening his eyes. "turns out, not very fast, so I'll end my turn there." he stated triumphantly.

"Alright, if you says so!" Skull drew. "Now then, I'll show you true power, you see, while your monster cannot be destroyed from my Berserk Dragon (2500/0), it can still deal you damage through an attack!" he motioned for his dead dragon to attack the primitive guardian. "Now, my dragon, take out his monster and 600 of his LP!" the creature obliged, and swooped down to attack the smaller monster. It blew noxious gases through it's nose and knocked the blond man's helmet off.

Kou's Body-1150

Skull-1670

The Celtic Guardian(1900/1200) straightened itself and reattached his helmet, he was severely disoriented for a minute, but still alive. "Ha, your monster didn't knock off enough LP for me to worry, and now it's my turn!" Kou's body stated, drawing his card. "Now, behold, I'll set one card facedown and end my turn!" the said card appeared and the one in Kou's body smirked evilly.

"Nice bluff, but your going to lose, I'm afraid!" Skull drew and his teeth gave an evil smile. "Now, watch and learn, I'll first sacrifice my Berserk Dragon (2000/0) to summon, the mightiest of all Zombies, the Vampire Lord (2000/1500) in attack mode!" a pale, ghostly Zombie appeared and smiled, extending his hand in a slightly seductive manner. "Not only does my Vampire Lord hold the same ability as my Vampire Lady (1550/1550) he also has a higher attack power, now show him what your made of, attack his Guardian!" the lord of Vampire's (at least in duel monsters) disappeared with a swish of his cape. Reappearing behind a startled warrior, he sunk his fangs deep into the Celtic's neck. Blood splattered from his new meal, but the Guardian was still alive, somehow.

Kou's Body-1050

Skull-1670

"HA! And you said you would be a challenge, looks to me like I've already won! Oh, and for my creature's effect, I'll select trap!" Skull stated. His monster snapped its hand and all of Kou's trap cards appeared before him. The silver haired man selected one and sent it to his graveyard silently. "End turn!" Skull finished triumphantly. Suddenly a stick of dynamite flew from out of nowhere, straight to the Vampire Lord. The creature barely had time to look up, suddenly it was gone, a smoking crater were it was previously. Bits of the bloodsucker raining down on the field. "What happened to my Vampire lord?" questioned Skull nonchalantly.

"Simple, it was destroyed due to my Blast with Chain trap effect!" the mystery man stated, drawing his card. "Now then, I'll summon, The Hunter with Seven weapons (1000/700) in attack mode!" a stout warrior holding a short blade in each hand appeared. He was also carrying several other swords and knives.

Skull would have raised an eyebrow if he could have, but instead he laughed like he never laughed before, therefore not hearing the figure mutter: "Zombie" under his breath.

"What in the world, is that supposed to scare me!" he asked in the same laughing manner, clearly not caring about his opponent's monster. "Well then, if your done, I'll attack with Vampire Lord (2000/1500)! His mighty monster smirked and charged in for an attack. Kou frowned, his opponent took this for a look of misunderstanding and began to explain. "You see, my Vampire Lord (2000/1500) automatically returns to my field if destroyed by anything other than a monster attack!" his smile threatened to split his face at that moment. "Or in other words, you now lose 1000 LP for your stupidity of placing that baldy on the field!" skull smirked as his Vampire's fangs stretched down, and he lunged at the Hunter…

_To be Continued._

**Next time**: The mystery man that has taken Kou's body for himself continues the duel. Just when it looks like he's out of the park, he has to fight real zombie's to protect Shisei! You don't want to miss the next skull bashing (literally) chapter of Duel Monsters: Maximum.


	11. Shadows of the dead

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. So you better not recognize Shisei and Kouichi! 

_Chapter 11: Shadows of the dead_

The figure in Kou's body still didn't seem worried that his hunter was as good as dead. But this was a different story for the monster, it began to fiddle with its weapons, and just as the Vampire bit into him, there was a loud screech of pain, and they both disintegrated in digital dust. Skull looked in surprise at the turn of events. Then he shrugged, figuring this to be the work of a trap. "Ha, you never learn do you?" he quizzed his opponent cheerfully. "My monster will only come back to me next turn!" he re told his monster's very useful ability in even more triumph than the first explanation.

"No, it won't." the silver haired man stated in the utmost of simplicity.

"Really, then tell me, what could you possibly have to stop it?" Skull was amused at how stupid his new opponent was. Then, he stole a sideways glance at the LP score and gasped.

Kou's body-1150

Skull-1670

"Wha- but- HOW!" the absence of eyes and eyebrows made Skull comical, to hear such a surprised voice coming from a skeleton was laughable indeed to the figure. At least it seemed to be as he snickered.

"Idiot, my Hunter with Seven Weapons (2000/700) gets an extra 1000 attack points for battling a monster of the type I declare when it's summoned." he folded his arms in clear glee at his opponent's confusion, and now anger.

"No matter, my Zombie will be back next turn, but your monster will be laid to rest in the Shadows forever!" Skull had the malevolent tone back and laughed hysterically. "Right my dear!" he looked at the Vampire lady (1550/1550). Namia's face stared at the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1900/1200) unmoving. She had the coldest of looks in her normally bright crimson eyes. "Ahh, she'll come around!" Skull taunted.

The one in Kou's body only snickered, not rising to the bait of his opponent. Instead he drew. At first, there was no expression, but then he looked up at Skull with a smirking look. "I've drawn the card I needed, your doomed!" he stated. Skull looked at him suspiciously.

"Your bluffing!" he bellowed, so worried that his opponent really had drawn the win. "No way did you draw a card that could bypass my defense, and if you attack, you have to hit the girl!" he smiled, weaker than usual, but still feeling more confident.

"I'm going to shoot over your strategy." the mystery man stated.

"Ha! Do you know how insane you sound!" Skull was now completely sure that he had over taken his opponent so well he was becoming delusional.

"My strategy is this, watch and learn!" he inserted another card into the magic and trap card zone of the duel.

* * *

It took a while to adjust to being in the grasp of mad skeleton men, Sei admitted it. But the thing that he found even harder to grasp than this, was that Kou was still trapped in the dome of shadow, and Namia was nowhere to be seen. 'Maybe I should make a break for it… Heck, they might not even stop me."' Shisei began to ponder to himself the chances that he could escape. Counting the fact that his best skill in gym was running, his chances were good. But then he remembered that he had almost failed gym six consecutive times. 'Better not risk it."' he thought. He then sat back, and watched the dome in slightly more interest as to what was happening inside.

* * *

Namia felt a strange lifting sensation. As though she were… well, floating on a cloud. But, suddenly she heard it, the voices. "Right… WIN…My…Strategy…Dear…Learn. It was only snippets, but she continued to listen, and she began to think, that maybe, this was… a duel. But no, it couldn't be. Bit by bit, she was wondering where she had been before this all happened, then she remembered. 'I was at the Duel Monsters Japan tournament!"' she felt as though she had broken the barrier between her life in a distant past, and her new life now. As though she was remembering a very tragic event she had blocked out of her memory. 'Kou… THAT VOICE!"' she realized. "KOU!" she screamed aloud. The thought that she had to find him, see him, that was what made her hear, feel and see.

* * *

"Now I'll act-" the mystery duelist, in the middle of his speech, was suddenly cut off as the Vampire Lady screeched Kou's name. Skull and the figure looked at Namia in the monster. Namia blinked and looked at her surroundings.

"Umm… Kou?" she looked at the figure in surprise. Then, before anyone could make a move, the figure winced.

'What the hell… Why do you want your body back now!" he thought to Kou.

'Take a wild guess!"' Kou responded, still in thought speech to the mystery figure. The figure rolled his eyes, muttered something about younguns and receded back into Kou's soul room.

"Look, your not going to be able to free Namia, so just let her be, if I can win without attacking her…" the figure stated, cutting himself off to think if he could really pull it off.

"I hate to be so rude to someone that saved my life and all… but this is kind of my body, and so my choice!" Kou retaliated. "So just let me see her, and besides, I've been watching and know the strategy, so just let me try-" he broke off. He was about to say "Try to win' but he didn't want to think about failing. "Let me win!" he finished.

The figure looked at the determined face of Kou, and sighed in exasperation. "Alright then, you go, but don't do anything stupid, risky, cutthroat, or… well Kou like." he turned away. Kou blinked.

"You make it sound like you know me." he stated, closing his eyes. It was odd, but Kou felt like he had already been made to jump from his soul room to his body before, and it was very easy for him now. "By the way… What's your name?" he looked questioningly at the figure.

"If you must know… My name is Chiro, holder of the seals." he stated. "Now go, before she forgets you." Chiro stated, looking away.

Kou flashed a thumbs up at him. "Don't know you that well, but apparently were going to share a body, so see ya." and he left with a smile. The thing about the smile though, as Chiro plainly saw, it was not one of Kou's happy-go-lucky smiles. It was one of utter fear and confusion.

"Alright, hey there no skin, Namia!" Kou suddenly opened his eyes, Namia and Skull both turned to face the boy with shock. His hair and eyes were back to normal, and his voice was boyish again.

"YOU!" Skull was actually getting glad to have an "idiot" of a duelist, instead of Kou, the mighty savior. Kou looked at Skull with a smirk of his normal mischievous nature.

"Yep, me, and now, Namia, if you'll excuse me, I have to take out the garbage!" Kou pressed the Magic card activation on his disk and hopped into duel mode, giving Namia a wink and smile. "I'll play Monster Reborn, to bring back the Mataza the Zapper (1300/800) in attack mode," the deadly samurai appeared with a wide smile of his own. "my Mataza is the key to your defeat!" Kou continued smirking.

"Nice try boy, but you still have to mow down your girlfriend to get to my LP!" Skull tossed a finger at Namia. "So go ahead, if you want to come out with one less soul." he gave his own smirk.

"Kou, what is he talking about!" Namia asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"Don't worry Namia, I'll save us both, then I can explain this whole thing." Kou assured her. "Now then, I'll show you I don't need to mow down Namia! Activate, Shooting Star Bow – Ceal on my Mataza!" he smirked. A huge Bow with arrows fell from the sky, the Samurai sheathed his blade and took up the bow and arrows with ease. "This will lower my monster's attack points by 1000, and force me to discard a card, but it'll give me what I need to win!" he smirked again as he sent a card to the grave yard. His Mataza the Zapper (300/800) continued smirking, though this time it looked rather fixed.

"Ah, that will give you the ability to attack directly… to bad you'd need three turns to attack and inflict enough damage to defeat me." he smirked. "Your annoying Mataza isn't strong enough alone!" he hissed with glee. "Next turn you get to destroy it my dear!" he told Namia, who gagged.

"You wish! I'll never harm Kou or any of his monsters!" Namia responded with fury in her voice. Kou beamed appreciatively at her.

"Now allow me to show you my finishing play, I'll show you another card you've probably grown to hate… say hello to, Horn of the Unicorn!" the beautiful horn glowed brightly and attached itself to the armor of the samurai. Skull's eyes widened.

"No, you can't, this is impossible, you can't beat me!" Skull looked in horror at the deadly Zapper (1000/800) who was raising his bow in eagerness.

"Alright Kou!" Namia cheered.

"You lose , Mataza (1000/800) double direct attack!" the monster raised two arrows in his bow and shot them into Skull's LP.

Kou-1150

Skull-0

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Skull screeched, there was suddenly a blinding light, and the sphere of darkness had lifted, and Namia was suddenly in her dueling attire that she wore before. Skull was nowhere to be seen. Shisei looked up at the two in shock.

"Holy cow! You won!" he ran over and thumped Kou on the back. "I didn't think- well that is, I didn't- I well- you know- YOU WON!" he stated in confusion as to how best to express his happiness and relief.

"Yeah, that's what you meant to say!" Kou smirked at him. "Now let's get out of here!" he exclaimed. He turned to lead them out, when suddenly, his face turned hard. Standing around them, were none other than thirty or forty skull look-a-likes. "Yeah, I get the feeling they want us to stay here." They were all looking menacingly at Kou, Shisei and Namia, obviously wanting revenge for Skull.

"You killed Maester Donovan!" one glowered, removing a dagger from his belt. "Now you shall pay in your blood!" they all charged.

Shisei and Namia cringed (Shisei actually screamed like a girl as well) and ducked. Kou on the other hand, grabbed them both around the waist, and leapt over the heads of the skulls. "Sorry, can't talk right now, got to fly!" he bounded off tables and chairs, slowed only slightly by the weight of his comrades. The skull men were just as nimble, and the only thing slowing them was the sheer size of the group. But eventually, they grappled onto Shisei's dangling leg and pulled him down. "NO, SEI!" Kou hit the wall and slid down into a mass of skull men.

"Kou- oof!" Namia fell from Kou's grasp and landed on another few skulls. They all ignored her though, and went straight for the swordsman. Soon poor Kou was buried in skull men, and they were all to occupied with trying to kill him to notice Namia getting up. Shisei raised himself as well. "We have to help him!" Namia stated, though she wasn't too keen on the idea of attacking the undead.

"You first." Sei responded. But suddenly, it was obvious Kou didn't need any help, if that silver haired man was Kou, anyway.

"ARGH!" strangled cries erupted from the crowd of skull men as they were sliced by a glowing blue. "What the hell!" the last few skulls managed to register the long curve of blue that belonged to a sword sheath. But Chiro had already started taking them out. He took a huge leap and punched one of the shorter skull's head off, literally. Then one with a table advanced on him. Chiro turned and caught a leg of the table, then wrenched it from his opponent's grip. He tossed it as though it were made of paper and cut the skull in half with his still sheathed blade. Three skulls charged him at once, one was the dagger holder. "YOUR DEAD!" he roared, making a futile stab at the elusive man.

"Guess again!" Chiro leaped over him and pulled up the head of a reforming skull man, tossing it at another of the charging three. It was a clean bulls eye as his own skull was knocked off. Then Chiro spun on his heel, a full three-hundred and sixty degrees, cutting the dagger wielder and the final charging skull to shreds. He turned to Namia and Shisei, who both backed away. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!" he glared. "MOVE, WE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!" he didn't wait for a response, he grabbed them and leaped away, out into the cold night.

* * *

"Okay, folks, now that your all riled up, time to get ready for… Namia vs. Stopper!" the announcer shouted out to the people of the audience. The next match was already about to begin, but unfortunately, both Namia and Stopper were missing. "Oookay… INTERMISSION!" he stated nervously. Suddenly, one of the entrance doors burst open and everyone near it saw the impressive fire duelist enter with a warrior and M/T duelist.

"S-sorry I'm a little late," Namia breathed deeply, Chiro had transformed back to Kou and they had all ran the rest of the way back to the Duel area. "let's get this show on the road!" she finished, straightening her hair, she whispered to Kou: "And after this duel, tell me what happened back there!" she said.

Kou nodded and went to the duelists watching area. Shisei followed. And Namia, all alone on the duel field, prepared to duel.

* * *

Higentaka Osmos reviewed Kou's latest duel, the duel in the Shadow Realm. "So then, Chiro, if I'm right, you are the holder of the seals…." a smile crossed his lips. "This should be fun!" he then left the chair he had been sitting, and exited the room. Leaving only the darkness behind.

* * *

**Next time**: Namia and her opponent, a young genius who is deemed Stopper, step into the ring. Meanwhile, Osmos hatches a special plan for Kou. Will Kou be able to handle it? Find out on the next Duel Monsters: Maximum! 


	12. The Phoenix of Gold Fire

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. So you better not recognize Shisei and Kouichi! 

_Chapter 12: Phoenix of Gold Fire_

Kou and Shisei dropped down into their seats in the stands in exhaustion. "I'm never doing that again!" Shisei stated in exasperation as he plopped down into his seat by Kouichi.

Just as they thought they had some free time, Namia had her duel. Rushing up to the stands were the least of their worries though. Now they were worried about Namia winning, whatever Osmos seemed to want from them, and if they were going to be ambushed by skulls halfway to the stands.

"Bet your hoping she wins again, huh?" questioned Shisei mischievously to his best friend. Normally Kou would punch him in a joking manner, or insult him as friends would, anything to show he had heard. But today, Kou was to busy trying to sort out his feelings of the odd spirit that was inhabiting his body with him. After all, it wasn't every day you found out you shared a body with a deadly warrior who saved you and your friend's life. Oh, and add to the fact that you just faced a dead man with horribly jokes for you and your friend's (not girlfriend) life and soul. No, he wasn't feeling in the mood for talk.

Shisei, of course not knowing his friend's mental plight, blinked in shock when he wasn't caused bodily harm. The blond raised a hand and waved it in front of Kou's face, which was difficult by the fact that he had his head turned away from him. After a bit of maneuvering, he got the message through. "Kou, hello, anybody home!" he added. No response. Sei sighed and sat back down properly to watch the duel.

* * *

"ALLLLRIGHTY THEN!" the announcer's voice once again blasted out over the speakers as cheerful as ever, though it seemed a little late. Namia was the only one in the ring at the moment, which meant her opponent had 15 minutes to report to duel before disqualification. "The next duel to go underway, will be Namia, Regional Champion of London vs." the announcer was apparently looking for something, the intercom projected snippets of conversation like: "can't even find….idiots name…. That's your job….just say….SMOKE."

People snickered and laughed, but one minute brown haired boy jumped up so suddenly, a duel monsters deck, which he was obviously searching through, spilled over the railing. He blushed a furious red and lunged to pick them up. "HEY!" he shouted, getting back his dignity, apparently, and jumping up. "MY NAME IS STOPPER!" he was just as loud as the announcer over the loudspeaker. "AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!" he finished, rushing into the arena.

Namia blinked once, twice, three times. "Umm… I don't mean to be rude, but aren't you a little young for this kind of tournament?" she asked. Seeing as how Namia had just previously been kidnapped, she was in no mood for Child's play. To this question, the boy only smirked and raised his duel disk. "Look lady, my age is of no importance, its my dueling skills you need to worry about, so lets get this show on the road!" he inserted his deck and his duel disk ejected the holo projectors.

'Oh well, might as well get this over with."' Namia thought in exasperation. She mimicked her opponent, and prepared to duel.

* * *

Osmos walked through the corridors of the NDA (National Duel Association) with a spring in his step. He had, at last, found the bearer of the seals. "Funny how I thought it was M r. Aragashi, when, all this time, it was Mr. Nandao!" he retold himself, still filled with glee over his triumph. "Now to ask for a little favor." he entered a closed off room in the building.

There were three other men that worked with Higentaka. They were all involved in organizing and supervising the Fifth Annual Duel Monsters Japan tournament. These men and himself were all after one thing. They wanted to put the best duelists that they could find together, all for another "Special" task.

Higentaka entered the brightly lit room, looking at his three co-workers. "Men, I have a proposition for you!" he said cheerfully, his happiness leaking over into his usually calm, cool, collected business life.

Each of the men had on a company made business suit with a special logo, making them impossible to copy. The one closest to Osmos had a sour expression. He had on a very obvious toupee of a black color, and held an old-fashioned pipe in his mouth. Another of the men had shrewd, calculating eyes. He was younger than the rest and wearing eye glasses. He was a brunette. The final partner clashed horribly, he wore large, ugly brown boots that looked like dead animals. He had no hair and a jack-o-lantern's smile, missing teeth and all. "What do you want?" they all questioned together, sounding like drones.

Higentaka looked distastefully at the boots on the jack-o-lantern's feet. "I wonder if I could have someone pushed up into the semi-final rounds." he smoothed his jacket to look professional.

"Why woud ya wanna do tha'?" the man with the bad boots asked suspiciously. "Why woud he wanna do tha'?" he asked his shrewder, younger, more calculating partner. The man turned to the accent, apparently used to it, he raised his hands in a fashion to say "I don't know'.

"Simple, my dear fr-" Osmos cut himself off, he couldn't bring himself to say the word "friends" to these underlings. "My dear partners." he corrected. "He has more potential than any other duelists in the entire tournament, and we have an odd number, so this will snip two problems." his response was crisp, and to the point.

The men looked at each other. Then the smoking one sighed and asked. "What's his name?"

Higentaka sensed weakness, and wanting no reason to lose his chance for approval, cleared his throat. "Kouichi Nandao." he stated.

* * *

Namia looked at her five cards with interest. "You may go first." she said politely. The kid drew his card.

"Alright, I'll set my entire hand!" the disk beeped for a millisecond, then five brown back cards appeared on his magic and trap area, and one in the monster area. The monster card was horizontal, indicating defense mode. "Your move." his confidence never wavered.

Namia snickered. "That was stupid." she slipped a card from her disk. "Now let me show you how pro's do it!" she added the card to her hand.  
"I'LL SHOW YOU PRO!" the young boy raged, activating a trap card. "Say hello to my drop off, now you lose your drawn card." he discarded his own trap.

Namia scowled and did as the effect stated. "Fine by me, I'll remove my Charcoal Inpachi (100/2100) that you forced me to discard, to summon, Inferno (1100/1900) in attack mode!" a raging fire erupted on her field, just as it was taking shape, it screeched horrible and died down. Namia blinked in confusion.

Namia-8000

Stopper-7200

"Don't look so confused, I just activated Royal Oppression." he motioned to a card that showed several people in royal clothes starving and moaning in pain, caged in a cold steel. "This negates the special summoning of monsters at the cost of 800 LP, both you and I can use this effect." he recited.

Namia took another card from her four card hand and inserted it into the disk. "I'll summon, Raging Flame Sprite (100/200) in attack position." an evil looking cauldron appeared, and a mischievous Sprite bobbed up from behind it.

"Big deal, My defense monster is to strong for that thing." Stopper yawned in fake tiredness.

"Ah, but my Sprite can attack you directly, and after doing so, it gains 1000 extra attack points! Now attack directly!" Namia's tiny monster took out a baloon, filled it with the liquid in the cauldron, and tossed it at the boy, who ducked, though his LP still dropped. "End turn." Namia smiled as her Raging Flame Sprite (1100/200) got an attack point bonus.

Namia-8000

Stopper-7100

"Nice move." Stopper drew. A boyish smile appeared on his face as he slapped the monster down onto his duel disk. "I'll summon, Possessed Dark Soul (1200/800) in attack mode!" a burning creature appeared on her side of the field, cackling madly.

Namia gasped, and then looked at its attack points. "Go ahead." she said, amused at the monster before her. "Attack my Sprite (1100/200) I'll only turn around and destroy that thing next turn." she told the boy.

"Nice guess, but I have absolutely no intention of attacking your Sprite. Indeed, my demon has no intention of attacking your monster at all, but controlling it!" the same smirk reappeared on the boy as he pressed the effect activate button on his duel disk. "Now, activate your special ability my Possessed Dark Soul (1200/800) , sacrifice yourself to take control of every face-up level three or lower monster on the field!" Stopper articulated. His monster cackled even louder as it turned into a purple flame and shot over to the shocked Sprite. The Sprte then glowed and floated over to Stopper's field lazily.

"NO! MY MONSTER!" Namia watched helplessly as her monster switched to her opponent's field. She growled furiously.

"Guess what's next?" he asked, rhetorically. "That's right, my new and, in my opinion, improved Sprite (1100/200) will directly attack your LP." his Sprite scooped up a bucket of the liquid and tossed it over Namia's head, cackling evilly. "End turn." his Raging Flame Sprite (2100/200) returned, looking as though it had new plans of emptying its refilling cauldron.

Namia-6900

Stopper-7100

Namia gritted her teeth and drew. "I'll set one card face-down and one defense monster!" she motioned for Stopper to go.

"Okay, I'll set one more card face-down on my magic or trap zone. This giving me five again!" he looked happy about such a move. Too happy in Namia's opinion. "And I'll attack your LP once more with the stronger Raging Flame Sprite (2100/200)!" the child disappeared for a minute, then reappeared , struggling under the weight of the hose he had brought back. He inserted the hose into the cauldron, and a small but steady stream of water sprayed at Namia.

Namia-4800

Stopper-7100

* * *

"Yeah, Kou, I think Namia's in trouble." Shisei looked intently in front of him, not really expecting an answer from the silent Kou. Kou, at the moment, was looking at the duel, but not really seeing it. 'What's happening to me?"' he thought to himself. 'Chiro, Chiro…. Are you there?"' he thought towards the inner workings of his mind and soul, trying to speak with his counterpart.

'Yes, what do you want, kid!"' Chiro responded rather harshly. Kou was half overjoyed that he got a response, half frightnend of himself. His joy came from the fact that he hadn't lost his only lead to answers, but his fear was from the fact that hearing the voice of Chiro respond made him seem crazier. 'Your not crazy, you know that, right?"' Chiro would have reassured Kou, if he were talking from outside of his mind.

'No, I don't know that, that's the problem!"' he mental yelled to the seal holder. That was another thing, what was with the seal holder stuff, he seemed to have invented a whole other alternate universe where Chiro was this "Seal Holder".

'YOU DID NOT INVENT ME!"' Chiro's angry voice yelled to him, trying to get the "kid" out of his depressive state.

"YEAH, WELL THEN GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Kou shouted, luckily, everyone had just flinched at what was happening in the duel, so they didn't notice. Even Shisei was to wrapped up to see.

'……….."' he felt and heard the ringing silence in his soul.

'…Okay…goodbye then."' Kou thought to himself, feeling happier, and finally able to watch the duel.

* * *

"You've made your point, now let me make mine!" Namia drew. "I'll activate Pot of Greed!" she drew twice and looked at all four cards in her hand. "I now summon, Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000) in attack mode," a dragon with flames surrounding it appeared.

Stopper blinked, then he collapsed on the floor, laughing his head off. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Your m-monst-ter i-s way too weak!" he told her, still wiping a tear from his eye.

Namia rolled her red eyes. "Let me finish kid." she stated coldly. "I'll also flip summon, Burning Inpachi (1850/0) in attack mode." a beast that looked as though it were once made of wood appeared on Namia's field, standing next to her towering dragon. "Next, activate face-down card, Riryouki!" half a glowing blue sphere appeared around Namia's Dragon (3250/1000), and half around the frightened Sprite (1750/200). They then converged and floated into the newly empowered Solar Flare Dragon (3240/1000) "This will take half of your monster's attack strength, and add it to mine. Now, attack his monster, Solar flare dragon!" the monster obliged and spat burning chunks of sun at the young Sprite. "Say goodbye!" but just as the chunks of sun were by the cowering boy, they shot over to the defense monster instead.

"HA!" the boy yelled triumphantly. "You fell into my trap _again_!" Namia groaned as the boy emphasized "again". "I activated, Shift, to switch the target of your attack, to my defense position monster!" the defense card shattered under the sun chunks, but then a scythe wielding creature appeared, and sliced the Burning Inpachi in two. It's flames went out and it broke in half like a tree normally would. "Oh, and my defense creature was Night Assailant (200/500) which destroys a monster on your side of the field." he smiled.

Namia looked on in shock, as her beast was destroyed, and her dragon was reduced back to normal power, much to its sadness. "I'll activate Ring of Magnetism on my Solar Flare Dragon (1000/500) this decreases his attack, but next turn you have to attack him!" she stated. "End turn, which means you lose 500 LP due to my dragon's effect."

Stopper drew again, and again set his card. "I'll attack your beast with Raging Flame Sprite (3100/200)!" the sprite threw all pretenses out the window, it rushed over and poured the liquid over the shrieking dragon, destroying it. "End turn."

Namia-2700

Stopper-6600

Namia drew, still unwilling to give up hope. She looked at the card then her eyes widened. "Kid, you fought well, but this is it, I'll summon, The Phoenix of Blue Fire (1500/1500) in attack mode." a beautiful blue, shimmering bird appeared on Namia's field, wailing a beautiful song as it swooped from the sky. "Then I'll activate Dian Keto, the Cure master!" the card's effect increased her LP by 1000.

Namia-3700

Stopper-6600

* * *

Shisei looked incredulously at Namia's field. "Woah, she has a Phoenix of the fire… Maybe she's not so screwed after all." he said.

"What are those, Sei?" Kou asked his best friend. Shisei jumped, and then turned to Kou as though he were a ghost.

"Oh my god, your on the plane of the living!" he responded. "I thought you'd gone into shock." he frowned, wondering what had happened to his now normal best friend.

Kou rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, what does it matter if she has such a weak monster?" he asked again.

Shisei immediately went into explaining mode. "Well, that thing isn't really weak at all." he started. "All of the Phoenixes have Special abilities, by my knowledge, there are five. Only the best of duelists can use all five properly in a duel, having them is nothing to using them correctly." he told Kou. "Namia probably based her entire deck around those guys. Which isn't bad, in this case. But if that is the only one she has…"he paused.

"What?" Kou chided him.

Shisie turned slowly to his best friend. "She's screwed again." he stated simply. Kou paled, and turned back to the match.

* * *

A smile crossed the face of her opponent as he watched. "How are these random moves going to help you?" Stopper asked, thinking he knew the answer.

Namia tsked. "These moves aren't random at all, their exactly what I need to take you down." she pressed the effect activate on her duel disk. "My Phoenix has a special ability!" she commentated as her LP dropped.

Namia-200

Stopper-6600

"A special ability that brings you down to 200 LP?" Stopper replied, clearly over enjoying his opponent's move.

"No, this is just the price." she smirked as she picked up her deck and rifled through hit. "I can pay any number of LP, and then Special summon a Phoenix monster with that many attack points!" she smirked.

"What monster has 3500 attack points?" Stopper asked skeptically. "And don't forget about Royal Oppression!" he told her. He and his Sprite (3100/200) did a little dance.

"This one, say hello to: The Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500)!" her monster screeched onto the field, it had the same brilliant song coming from its beak as the Blue Phoenix (1500/1500). It had a wonderful gold plumage and a bright golden fire around it's body. "The special summoning of the Blue Phoenix can't be negated, so don't even try it." Namia stated colly.

Namia-100

Stopper-6600

Stopper looked at the LP score in confusion. "Your- WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO MY FIELD!" he suddenly shrieked. His plan was to ask what happened to Namia's LP count, but he then noticed his field erupting into golden fire, every single card was ejected from their slots and discarded.

"My Golden Phoenix (3500/3500) has a special ability, I can sacrifice it, to destroy all cards on your field and inflict direct damage equal to each card x500 points!" Namia exclaimed, drawing five cards. "Then I draw one card for each one you lost, since Raging Flame Sprite was mine, though controlled by you, I don't get a card for it." she finished.

Namia-100

Stopper-3600

Stopper looked on in shock as Namia studied her new hand. 'All of my cards, my strategies, their gone. Gone… All Gone."' he thought. He glared at Namia.

"Unfortunately, using such a powerful effect still ends my turn." With that said, a sudden egg floundered onto Namia's field. "Oh yeah, now I get a Phoenix Egg (0/0) in attack mode." she told him.

Stopper looked at the egg in disbelief. 'That egg has no attack or defense points…. If I can get in one good attack, she'll lose! All I need is a monster!"' he hoped with all his might, and drew. 'Darn, oh well, if she attacks, I can take out her monster."' he finished, setting the card. "I'll end my turn."

Namia drew, and in turn her Phoenix Egg (500/500) grew larger. "Oh, and by the way, my egg will get stronger and stronger every turn, after the appropriate amount of turns pass, I can sacrifice it to Special Summon a Phoenix with it's same attack from the graveyard." she then smirked. "Guess which Phoenix I'll want?" she laughed, making stopper fume to himself. "I'll set three cards facedown, end turn." she finished.

* * *

"HA! She's winning!" Kou stated, happy to see Namia whooping Stopper. He grabbed Shisei around the neck and jumped up and down.

"ACK- KOU!" Shisei yelled, trying to get out of the strangle hold. "I KNOW- ACK- SHE'S WI-ACK-NNING!" he yelled even louder.

Kou stopped abruptly and put a hand behind his head, sweat dropping. "Heh-heh, guess I got a little carried away." he said, then sheepishly turned back to the duel.

* * *

Namia yawned as Stopper drew and set a defense mode monster. "Alright, now I'll draw." she said after his turn ended. 'Whew, so far so good, he doesn't know that my egg (1500/1500) can be destroyed by an attack, even if the monster is weaker."' she thought. 'just a few more turns!"' she crossed her fingers behind her cards. "I'll end my turn with a monster in defense mode and two cards face-down." she told him. Suddenly, her egg(2000/2000) burst open, and out popped a baby Phoenix, squawking a horrible song, obviously trying to imitate its mother.

Stopper bit his lip. "I'll set one monster face down, and end my turn." he looked as her bird grew ever larger. 'My second Night Assailant needs one more turn before I can flip it."' he though, looking at his facedown monster, just previously set. 'Next turn I'll destroy that egg!"'

'Almost out of the woods."' Namia told herself. 'Even if he does attack, he'll lose major LP with almost any monster."' she drew, and then smirked. "You lose, I'll activate Pyro Clock of Destiny, to speed up the turn count by one, letting me sacrifice my Phoenix egg (3500/3500) for the Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500), in attack mode." she smirked. Stopper gulped, but he was still ready, she had to attack to get to his LP. And he still had Night Assailant (200/500). "Now, I'll activate, Shadow of eyes!" she flipped the trap, and Stopper's Night Assailant (200/500) flipped as well. The young boy looked at his last hope in shock.

'I lost."' he thought. 'No, she'll only make me lose 3300 LP this turn, there's still time!" he told himself.

"Next, I'll play another of my face-down cards, Replay, to reuse… Riryouki!" her magic card returned to the field. "I split my LP again, to do this." she told him, as she slid Riryouki into the proper slot.

Namia-50

Stopper-3600

"Ha, I'll still have 100 LP, try again!" he taunted. Namia smirked.

"This is it, my Phoenix, activate your next final Special ability: Golden Sunburst!" she commanded, the glowing beast obliged, and blasted fireballs of golden energy at her opponent's field. "I can sacrifice as many cards from my field, to destroy as many as I want on your field, so I'll get rid of my set monster, and my last two set cards, and destroy every thing on your field!" she smirked as only her Phoenixes were left, the Blue Phoenix (1500/1500) severely over shadowed by the Golden Phoenix (3600/3500). "You lose, Phoenix, Direct attack, Golden Sunfeathers!" her Phoenix swept down and blasted heat energy from its wings all over the boy, whose LP dropped to zero.

Namia-50

Stopper-0

* * *

**Next time**: The Semi finals are fast approaching, but while Kou is automatically accepted, Shisei has to deal with Weevil Underwood in the next round. Can Shisei win against another regional champion? Find out next time on: Duel Monsters: Maximum.


	13. Complications Arise

Disclaimer: Once more, I don't own Yugioh, nor the story line of Yugioh. But I do own this tournament, Shisei, Kou, Namia, Osmos, and other characters from previous chapters that you don't recognize. 

_Chapter 13: Complications Arise_

The audience stared at the duel arena in utter shock. Namia had just over come an opponent with over 3000 more LP than she. All by the use of the Phoenix cards, most people had never heard of. After a shocked silence, there was a small clapping noise from Shisei and Kou that reverberated throughout the whole of the auditorium. Other people seemed to come to their senses and started to applaud a leaving Namia.

"OKAY!" once again, the announcer's voice showered through the stands and arena, where Stopper was leaving, having no shame in lost his match. "Our next order of business is a special announcement." he told them, unfolding a post it note. "Would a Mr. Kouichi Nandao meet Higentaka Osmos in the Entrance Hall to discuss your being moved into the semi-finals without a duel." he read. It took a moment for the words to sink in for most. A lot of people hadn't even paid attention, but others turned around, especially parents or friends of aspiring duelists, trying to see this Kouichi boy who was to good for the next round.

"What was he talking about?" Shisei asked Kou. Kou looked at him bewildered and Shisei knew he didn't know. Then Osmos himself arrived, wearing a pale white suit this time, and standing on the stairs of the stands. He motioned for Kou to come over to him. "Go, I have my match next, or I'd come with you." Shisei told him, pointing at the chart that posted the last round of the Quarter-finals. Kou nodded and got up, a determined look on his face.

"I'll be back, just make sure you take the lead." he flashed the thumbs up and left toward Osmos in his sickly pale suit. As he left, he saw the match that determined the semi finals and paled.

Shisei vs. Weevil

* * *

Namia was looking for Kou in the stands. Or Shisei, heck, she'd take anyone. And, just as she thought this, none other than Mai Valentine walked up behind her. "I saw your match." she whispered. Namia jumped and turned to see the Harpy Lady duelist. Mai laughed as Namia scowled.

"Alright, enough!" she said, it was one of those moments where Kou would have hit Shisei. "Have you seen the two boys I was with before?" she asked. Mai stopped laughing and stood up straight.

"Of course, I mean, everybody's going to be seeing one of them in a minute." she pointed to the duel field, where Weevil and Shisei were preparing to duel. Namia looked down at the field in shock. "And your boyfriend is going to get his butt kicked by angry duelists. He is the one that got into the semi-finals automatically, right?" she asked.

Namia's eyes widened suddenly. "Oh my god, Mai!" she looked at the other woman in shock. "Mai, Kou was the one!" she said. She then rushed away to find the blue haired boy.

"HEY!" Mai shouted after her. "AREN'T YOU GOING TO WATCH SHISEI'S MATCH?" she received no response, as Namia disappeared into the crowd. 'Oh well."' Mai turned to do what she questioned of Namia, which was watch Shisei duel.

* * *

Kou found Osmos waiting nice and patiently in the hallway, the older man smiled as Kou approached. "What the hell did you do?" Kou jumped straight to the point. It was his hypothesis that Osmos wanted to humiliate him and to that effect, automatically skipped him forward in the tournament. "Why am I in the semi-finals automatically when others had to duel?" he questioned with just as much force.

Osmos leaned against the railing of the large entrance hall. The hall itself was beautifully decorated. It depicted the strongest or most rare duel monsters. There were chandeliers and red velvety carpet. Osmos seemed to take all of this in. "You proved yourself, you went against a literally dead man, for that, I requested you be admitted directly to the semi-finals." he sounded like a robot, responding this.

Kou bit his bottom lip. "What is with you!" he exclaimed. Kou looked at the form of the quiet Osmos in a way he never had before. He had a hard time holding on to his anger. Before, Osmos seemed like a cold, cruel, antisocial man with no respect for human life. Now, he looked as though some sort of secret had long been eating away, and he was at the point closest to revealing it. He looked to be at the end of his rope. He looked pitiful, not harmful and cruel.

"You shall report to the semi-finals, if you wish to, if not, Namia will lose her soul." he said. Kou felt his anger revive as he saw the Osmos get up and head out towards the special stands. Whatever he had been thinking about Osmos, was most definitely not true. But still, a small piece of him told him it was.

* * *

Weevil Underwood glowered at the person standing across from him in the duel arena. He was not one to be taken lightly, and it was obvious that was exactly what was happening. "Alright kid," he began, talking to Sei as though he were a fungus. "I will not lose here today, so just surrender now, or lose in the ring. Your pick." he then smiled widely. "Or you could use that pathetic deck of yours to try to put up fight, yes that will be entertaining!" he howled with that sickening laugh he always had.

Shisei smirked. "I've calculated the error that brought me so close to defeat against Espa." he said quietly, adjusting his glasses. "It turns out my entire strategy was to close to counter reproducing monsters through the effects of his and my own cards." he spoke as though a Nobel Prize winner, something that made Kou's head spin when the two of them studied together. "I won't make that mistake this time." he drew his five cards and motioned for Weevil to go.

Shisei-8000

Weevil-8000

"Okay, put up a fight, that pathetic stack of cards is going to be in the recycle bin when I'm done with you!" Weevil glared nastily and drew his sixth card. "Heh-heh, I'll summon, the mighty Neo Bug (1800/1700) in attack mode!" a giant bug that looked very much as though it was from an outer space movie, glared down at the blond duelist. "And I'll attack you directly!" his mighty monster fluttered its wings angrily.

Shisei raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, sorry, but you can't on your first turn." he condescendingly told the bug duelist.

"Oh, that's right," Weevil made to look like he had forgotten something. "I forgot to use THIS!" he showed his quick attack magic card. "Sorry, kid but you lose 1800 LP!" his bug charged forward.

"You wish!" Shisei pressed two cards into his disk. Suddenly, the insect grew tusks and its attacking power increased (2500/1700). "I'll activate two quickplay spell Rush Recklessly, increasing your monsters attack by 700-" he got cut off by Weevil's laughter.

"YOU FOOL!". the minute duelist howled with laughter. "My bug now gets a greater chunk of your LP!" he giggled so much, it took him a moment to notice his bug was on Shisei's field. "What, my Neo Bug!" he looked at the beast in shock.

"Yeah, notice, I said I'll activate two quickplay spells, the second one was Enemy controller." he pointed to an enlarged video game controller, which was now hooked into the bug's back. "I pay 1000 LP to bring your empowered monster to me." he told Weevil, adjusting his glasses.

Shisei-7000

Weevil-8000

"But why? You still can't attack with my Neo Bug (2500/1700)." Weevil, utterly bewildered, looked at Shisei for an answer.

"Simple my buggy friend, I plan on activating, Mystic Wok!" a thunder bolt struck the Neo bug and it turned into shimmering vapors that increased Sei's LP. "I sacrifice your big and ugly bug, to do something so small, yet so beautiful as increase my LP!" he smirked at Weevil's fuming look.

Shisei-9500

Weevil-8000

"You bastard!" Weevil was outraged that he could lose one of his precious bugs. "I'll set two cards facedown, now go!" he glared at Shisei.

"Okay, I'll activate Card of Demise!" Shisei drew five cards, giving him seven. "I'll then activate, Xing Zhen Hu on your facedown cards." Shisei smirked as a symbol of sealing was set on them.

Weevil looked at his cards and shrieked. "NO!" he realized he was defenseless. Then he remembered hearing that Shisei had only magic and traps in his deck, and a smile of relief spread over his face.

"I wouldn't look so relieved, if I were you." Sei removed three other cards from his hand and set them. "Now I'll activate, Autonomous Action Unit!" slowly, the ground on Weevil's field broke apart as the Neo Bug (1800/1700) emerged from the ground. "Paying 1500 LP, I get to revive your Neo Bug, as you've seen. And I'll directly attack." he smirked.

Shisei-8000

Weevil-6200

"You'll pay for that!" Weevil drew, his grin made his eyes slits. "I'll summon the Petit Moth (300/200) in defense mode!" he smirked evilly. "Then I'll play Remove Trap, on your Xing Zhen-Hu!" a bear trap appeared and crushed the card, then it was foiled itself. "Next I'll equip my Moth (300/200) with Cocoon of Evolution!" his moth was suddenly cocooning itself. "Finally, my face down cards will say hello, Insect Barrier and DNA Surgery!" he smirked at his ultimate combo. "Now even if you do summon another monster, it won't be able to attack, because I'll use DNA to make every creature an insect!" he laughed that annoying laugh again, but Shisei just drew. "You now see true power, my Moth will soon emerge from its cocoon, and when that happens, you'll lose to my ultimate insect!" he smiled widely once more.

"I'll activate one of my facedown cards, Spell Reproduction, and discard these two spell cards, to activate Card of Demise." he drew five cards once more, now he had an eight card hand. "I'll then activate my second Mystic Wok." again, the Neo bug was destroyed and it increased Sei's LP.

"What are you doing, trying to give yourself enough LP to survive!" he asked. Shisei just shrugged. "Oh well, you newbies just aren't duelist enough anymore." he laughed as Shisei played another card.

"I'll also set two more cards, your move." he stated.

Shisei-9800

Weevil-6200

"I'll draw." Weevil did so. "I'll set one card face down. Tick Tock, in three more turns, you'll lose it all!" he laughed even harder than the other times he burst out. Shisei drew and Weevil activated his face down card. "I'll activate my Pyro Clock of Destiny, so you discard your hand, and my Cocoon gets stronger!" he laughed as Shisei nonchalantly discarded his cards.

"I'll play my own remove trap on your DNA surgery." he smirked a bit of his own as that piece of the duel was deleted in digital dust. "End turn."

"Hahah!" Weevil laughed. "Now, in my next turn, You'll lose everything, and I'll be in the finals, you have no hand, and I'll blow all your traps away with my Moth!" he smirked. "But first, I'll set one more card facedown. Now go to your doom!" he laughed as the cocoon split open to reveal the Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth (3500/3000).

"I'll end my turn." Shisei turned the turn over to his opponent, who laughed hysterically again.

"Okay, now the fun can truly begin." Weevil laughed as his monster sent out a screech. "Now, I'll attack your LP directly!" he smirked, fully ready for a trap card.

"You wish, first, I'll activate my own DNA Surgery, this time, though, you'll have machine type monsters to deal with." he smirked as Weevil blinked in confusion. "Next comes Limiter Removal, which will double the attack points of all machine monsters." he smirked wider as Weevil's monster got a huge attack point boost (7000).

"Oh, I get it, you plan to get my monster destroyed by that card's effect." Weevil responded to the move with a smile, fully prepared with a Monster Reborn.

"Not quite, but now that your monster is strong enough, I'll activate Magic Cylinder, directing your attack right back at you." he stated, adjusting his glasses.

Shisei-9800

Weevil-0

It took a moment for the move to sink in, Shisei was already combining his deck with his graveyard and exiting. You wouldn't have been able to tell he was the victor. Unless you looked at the horror struck Weevil.

"NO!" he bowed his head and left as well.

* * *

Mai looked at the results of the duel in mild surprise, she new the kid was skilled, but not that skilled. 'Hmm, maybe he will be a challenge."' she thought.

Kou entered the stands just in time to see Shisei's last combo, and was now in complete shock. 'Whoa, he never dueled like that against me, or Espa, was he holding back then?"' he thought, as Shisei met him at the top, smiling happily. "Nice, though you could have let it go on a while longer." Kou told him with a smile.

Shisei laughed and flashed the thumbs up. Then, in a low voice. "So what's with you and this next match?" referring to the automatic jump into the semi-finals from Osmos. "Is it a ploy, or something?" he asked. Kou was about to explain the choice that Osmos gave him, about dueling or losing Namia, but he looked up, then gasped. Shisei looked at him and followed his gaze. He gasped as well, for the semi-final rounds were made, and it didn't look like this would be easy for Kou.

Round 1: Kou vs. Namia

Round 2: Shisei vs. Mai

* * *

**Next time**: Kou steps into the ring in to face one of his newest friends with happiness. But when a very familiar voice sounds in the back of his head, can he focus enough to beat the soul eater in Namia's body? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!


	14. Soul Eater

Disclaimer: Once more, I don't own Yugioh, nor the story line of Yugioh. But I do own this tournament, Shisei, Kou, Namia, Osmos, and other characters from previous chapters that you don't recognize. 

_Chapter 14: Soul Eater_

Kou stood rooted to the spot, as he saw the names for the semi-final matches. He would be facing Namia tomorrow. It wasn't that he in particularly minded dueling a friend of his. He had dueled Sei plenty of times, after all, but going against Namia was dangerous because of Osmos's warning. He turned and looked at Sei. "Let's go to the room!" he said. Shisei nodded and the two of them headed back to the hotel.

* * *

After a short walk, and Shisei giving his parents a call to say he had won two rounds and was in the semi-finals, the two collapsed on their respective beds. "Okay, so what did Osmos tell you?" Sei asked his best friend again.

"He said either participate in the next round, or…Or Namia will lose her soul." Kou told him. To his surprise, Shisei didn't gasp or look shocked. Instead, he stood up and paced around the room in his analyzing manner. "Um, what are you thinking about?" Kou asked with a look of bewilderment.

Shisei turned to him, his shimmering blue eyes piercing into Kou's violet ones. "This soul stuff, think about it, what could your soul be?" he looked out the window then.

"Um, Sei, maybe you should get in touch with your spiritual side." Kou looked amused at his blond buddy "Your soul is the thing that keeps you held together, without it, you'd be an empty, emotionless shell." Kou explained. Shisei just waved a hand and turned away from the setting sun, which he could see from his place at the window, to face his friend and fellow duelist.

"No, Osmos wasn't taking about a real soul I'm sure." he told Kou, looking as though he were close to some kind of breakthrough. "He was trying to tell you about something else, like a code, maybe." he paced again, agitating Kou. Suddenly, the pacing stopped as Shisei turned to Kou. "What did he look like? When he said this to you?" Sei asked as startled Kou.

Kou put a hand beneath his chin thoughtfully, looking up at the ceiling fan that revolved around. Slowly, slowly, he remembered Osmos's pitiful look in the entrance hall. "He looked like you said!" he stood up quickly. "What do you think he was trying to warn me about?" Kou asked with a twinkling look in his eyes, proud that his best friend shed some light on this mystery. "And why use code with me!" he continued.

"Slow down!" Shisei ordered. "I think that the whole duel you had with that Skull guy… that was probably someone after something Namia had." he elaborated, sitting down again to think about the newest piece to the puzzle. "So Osmos sent you to challenge Skull to keep whatever Namia has safe." he spoke slowly, putting it together in his own manner. Kou chided him with nods and motioning.

"So that's the reason Osmos told us about the match, he didn't think he could beat Skull, so he sent us!" Kou yelled.

"Maybe…" shies mulled Kou's interjection over in his head. "Yeah, and if you lost your "soul" then it wouldn't be a big deal. But he wants Namia to keep hers." Shisei started to look like he wasn't really there anymore, more as though he were floating in an ocean. His head bobbed up and down with a slow rhythm, it took Kou clearing his throat to snap him back into reality. "Sorry." he rubbed his head and laughed.

"Anything else you can figure, I need to know so I can tell Namia she's in danger!" Kou was getting up and putting on his shoes and coat.

"She won't be in danger tonight." Shisei reassured him, still not moving from his seat. Kou face fell.

"What do you mean?" he looked at Shisei like he was crazy. "You just said she'd lose whatever her soul is supposed to be." he reminded the blond.

"Yeah, but Osmos wouldn't have bothered setting you up in the semi-finals with her if he thought she was in danger tonight." he chimed. Kou thought it over for a minute and then sat down on his bed, though still looking apprehensive. "He didn't know when those Skull wearing dudes were going to attack Namia, but he knows when someone else is." Sei commented, making Kou listen more intently.

"Wait, does this have anything to do with that monster your say you swore came to life, do you think?" Kou questioned. Shisei shuddered at the memory.

"I don't know." he removed his glasses, a sign that he was getting to tired to discuss the situation much longer. The two had always studied together, though usually for Kou's benefit, and they knew each other well. So Kou took off his shoes and sighed, laying back on his bed. "All I know is you should definitely face Namia tomorrow, and we should actually stop worrying about this." he smirked as he sidled into his own bed. "I mean, if you didn't think on it so much, you might find it fun," he turned off the light after Kou was ready for bed as well. "Losing to Namia, I mean." he finished. BAM! Even in the dark, Kou's aim was true, and Shisei was now nursing a bruised arm from a thrown pillow.

* * *

Namia massaged her forehead, desperately trying , to no avail, to stay awake. She was thirty-nine miles away from the tournament area, and new she should be getting some sleep, so as to survive the long drive there. But she also knew she needed to have the best deck to be able to beat Kou in the semi-finals. 'He's goofy, but he's no idiot in duel monsters, got to be prepared."' she told herself again. "UGH!" she moaned, lying down on the bed. It was fast approaching midnight, if she didn't get some sleep, she'd have no energy. But now she had completely dismantled her deck, and couldn't focus to build a solid new one. 'Maybe a walk would help."' she thought. Cold night air probably would help her.

So she grabbed a light jacket and put it on over her tank top, she then grabbed her deck and left the room. Unknowingly, a small spider slipped off the coat rack and onto the coat she had grabbed.

* * *

The next morning didn't bring sunshine and daises for Kou. He wasn't still questioning Osmos's master plan, but he had to endure egging, rude yells and mocking catcalls as he approached the arena with Shisei. "I-HATE-OSMOS!" Kou gritted his teeth and wiped egg from his Chinese Martial Arts outfit (similar to Rey's from Beyblade, if anyone's ever seen it.) For if Osmos hadn't taken the liberty of ejecting Kou forward into the next round, then the crowd wouldn't have cared about him. But most everyone who was mocking the poor swordsman, had been in the tournament's earlier rounds and were still angry at his skip.

"Just ignore them." Shisei smiled and waved at the egging group, dodging a few eggs of his own. "And besides, this way you get a full breakfast." he ducked as Kou threw a playful punch at the smaller boy.

After a few more minutes walk, Kou was in the back stage area for the match's Namia was already on the field. "Well, wish me luck!" Kou adjusted his duel disk and took a bit more egg out of his hair. Shisei nodded, flashing a thumbs up.

"Yeah, you'll need it- no offense, but Namia is a tough customer." Shisei defended his earlier comment. "And I'll bet you she has all five of the Phoenix cards. Can't wait to seem them." he looked off dreamily, and then rudely awakened as Kou hit him in the back of the head. "Sorry, I mean, I can't wait to see you beat them!" he covered nervously.

"AND NOW!" the announcer's voice broke out over the stadium again, Kou rushed into the arena, and was glad that he wasn't pelted by eggs. "The next match, the first of the semi-finals is about to begin!" the announcer continued. "The combatants… KOUICHI NANDAO VS. NAMIA SASHIMI!" the two, being in the arena looked at each other.

"Well, I want a fai-" Kou was about to make a friendly statement, but Namia cut him off.

"I'm not your friend, understand, in the duel field, I'm your destroyer, you will bow to my fury, and beg for your life before I snatch it from you. Understand boy." these weren't nice friendly sentences, and the second was definitely not a question. Kou blinked, taken aback by how cold Namia suddenly looked.

"Umm, y-yeah." he drew five cards, Namia mimicked him but also drew her sixth. "I guess you don't know the real spirit of duel monsters." Kou looked at her in sadness, but Namia only shrugged. Kou's face suddenly hardened. "You don't want to be friends?" he asked. "Then I'll just beat you on enemy terms!" he yelled, the LP scores stopped, set to the normal. The duel was beginning.

Kou-8000

Namia-8000

* * *

Mai Valentine looked around the stadium for the cute boy she had watched Namia's first match with. 'He wasn't' as cute as that goofball Joey, but he was still a cutie pie."' she blushed with this thought. "Careful Mai, you can go to jail for thoughts like those." Mai muttered under her breath, then she spotted Shisei and walked toward him.

Shisei was already on edge to see how this turned out, he jumped at the smallest of sounds. So it was no surprised he leapt three feet in the air when Mai tapped him on his shoulder. "AHHH!" he turned around to face a laughing Mai. "What is your problem!" he asked, looking at her incredulously in the way she could just laugh at him.

"Y-your f-f-face was s-s-s- AHHAHAHAHA!" she busted up again as someone else strode through the full stands, looking at the match with mild interest. "Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I did get a little carried aw- what are you looking at?" Mai thought he was at first ogling her like any old pervert, but then followed his gaze and saw him watching Osmos. 'Oh god, he's gay!"' she thought. Shisei stood up and walked toward him, leaving Mai with her so called, "discovery".

* * *

Osmos was about four rows down, and three rows away. Shisei was almost there, he could've yelled for him not to go, but he didn't. Osmos walked away as Shisei came to stand by him, but Shisei got what he needed. He took out his laptop and pressed a small button. The maneuver was very awkward, as he was crowded around a bunch of others in the stands. But he finally managed to catch the signal on Osmos, and took a picture of the man. "What company what company." he muttered, folding his laptop back and heading over to his spot by Mai.

* * *

"I'll go first." Namia was obviously planning too by drawing her sixth card. "I'll summon Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000) in defense mode and set two cards face down." all of her cards appeared, the dragon rendered flawlessly. "End turn." her dragon half-heartedly blew a bit of fire at Kou, whose LP decreased due to its effect.

Kou-7500

Namia-8000

"Okay, I'll go now!" Kou gritted his teeth and drew. "I'll summon, Axe Raider (1700/1150), in attack mode!" he smirked as the axe slamming warrior erupted from the monster card. "Then I'll blow away your dragon (1000)!" his beast tore her beast into shreds as one of Namia's facedown card activated.

"Backfire, you lose 500 LP whenever I lose a fire attribute monster." Namia told him in her same cold, sterile manner.

"I'll set one card as well. End turn." he set the card and turned the duel over to Namia, who drew and activated her next set card.

Kou-7000

Namia-8000

"I'll now play Call of the Haunted, and it allows me to revive Solar Flare Dragon (1500) in attack mode." the dragon erupted from the ground, dragging bits of bone and earth from behind it. "Next I'll summon Darkfire Soldier #1 (1700/1150), in attack mode as well." her cold voice sent shivers down Kou's spine as the monster appeared, lit aflame, on her field. "Now I'll play Riryouku, and split your monsters attack to add the reduction to my Pyro warrior." the Darkfire Soldier (2350/1150) got ready to burn away Kou's Axe Raider (850/1150).

"Gee, this is going well." Kou muttered, as Namia declared her attack, decreasing Kou's LP. "And now your going to attack with your Dragon, right?" he questioned her. The dragon, just as Kou predicted, charged in and dealt him a deadly blow.

"I'll set my last two cards facedown and end my turn, draining you of 500 more LP." Namia didn't seemed worried about losing in the least, as Kou drew.

Kou-3300

Namia-8000

Kou looked at the card, praying for a miracle, and looked in disgust at Card of Sanctity. 'This would only help her."' he studied his hand and decided he had no choice. "I'll set three cards and activate, Card of Sanctity!" they both drew, Namia six times and Kou four times. 'What?" he looked at one of the cards in his hand in bewilderment. 'I don't have a Mage Power!"' he then shrugged, figuring he shouldn't turn down a chance to win. "Okay, get ready for the pain, I'll summon my good buddy, Mataza the Zapper (1300/800) in attack mode!" the samurai warrior landed in the arena with expert precision. "And then I'll activate, Mage Power, giving him an extra 2500 attack points!" the samurai now had a several times more lethal blade and was itching to use it on a monster.

"I'll activate Dust tornado!" Namia said quickly. A tornado spun around the card, but soon it died down. "You countered my trap?" she questioned.

"That's right, I activated my Trap Jammer!" he smirked, even though his Mataza's (3300/2800) attack and defense increase was now only 2000. "And now, without further ado, I'll attack both of your monsters!" the samurai leaped over to the field of Namia, and in one swift movement, removed both her Darkfire Soldier (1700/1150) and her Dragon's (1500/1000) heads. "Now I lose some LP, but it was well worth it!" he ended his turn.

Kou-2300

Namia-8000

"What, why weren't your LP decreased!" Kou suddenly noticed. He didn't hear Namia's answer though, instead he heard an all to familiar voice in the back of his head.

'Because, you idiot, the Soul Eater discarded Kuriboh."' the voice said it like it was obvious. 'Didn't you see that last turn?' it mentally rolled its eyes as Kou was looking incredulously.

"Ah, so you've finally decided to show yourself, Chiro, Holder of the Seals." Namia said coldly. Kou snapped out of it and looked at Namia in shock. "Yes, I can read your mind, and have been doing so for the past two turns." she rolled her eyes. "Waiting for that foolish thing to make his appearance." Namia glared at the more shocked Kou.

"But.. Namia, you?" he suddenly heard Chiro groan loudly. 'What is it?"' he asked, trying to keep things slightly polite between them. He still felt kind of bad for telling him off that time.

'This bitch is one of Thalius's lackeys."' he thought to a confused Kou. 'She's a soul eater alright."' he finished.

"Your not Namia, are you?" Kou looked at her, already knowing the answer.

The "Soul eater" threw back her head and laughed. "Now he gets it!" she yelled amused. The coldness in her voice seemed to be spreading around them, trapping them in a darkness. Kou suddenly realized what was happening and made a dive for the edge of the arena. He was too late, the darkness of the Shadow Realm had closed the two out of the stadium. "Osmos sent me to take over this Namia girl's body, on the condition that I beat you in this silly game, I get all of your souls for my babies!" she laughed louder, a high insane laugh that readied Kou.

"Okay, let's play for real then!" Kou shouted. 'Chiro, I'm not sure what's going on here, but now that your back, maybe you can tell me."' he said to the voice in his head. 'But don't get me wrong, I don't need duel help."' he wanted to throw the thought out of his mind that he couldn't win a "shadow game" without Chiro's help, it made him feel weak.

'I'll tell you when were stuck in this place for an eternity because of your horrendous dueling."' he replied. Kou gulped nervously. 'And we won't get to see any of your friends, or your relatives, or good duels."' Kou gulped more pronounced. 'And then of course, you can't die of hunger, you'll just feel it deep in your stomach and wonder around without food."' Chiro's voice said evilly. Kou still refused to say he'd accept dueling help if he needed it. 'Oh, and you'll of course be here with me."' Chiro finished.

Kou looked wildly around for an exit, when there was none, he raised his head towards the blocked off sky and yelled: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

_To be continued…_

_

* * *

_

**Next time**: Kou and Chiro have a hard time getting along and dueling together. But they'll have to, to be able to face Namia's Horus. Meanwhile, Shisei recognizes the logo on Osmos's suit and follows him to the express suite, only to accept his own challenge. Oh, and the Soul Eater gives an estimated half an hour before Namia's soul is unable to be revived. How is this exciting match going to end? Find out next time on Duel Monsters :Maximum!


	15. Third Degree Burns

Disclaimer: Once more, I don't own Yugioh, nor the story line of Yugioh. But I do own this tournament, Kou, Namia, Osmos, and other characters from previous chapters that you don't recognize. 

_Chapter 15: Third Degree burns_

Shisei had been watching his friends, Kou and Namia's, match in horror. For Kou had fallen behind greatly as Namia reduced his LP to a staggeringly low 2300 in the first few turns of the match. She was still at full. But the drastic difference in their LP counts weren't the reason he was looking at the field in horror at the moment. It was because a black sphere had suddenly appeared around the arena. And it looked just like the sphere from Kou's duel against the dead man.

"Don't worry, your friends will be okay." Mai, who had remembered her previous duel in the realm of evil, assured a horror struck Shisei. To her surprise, Shisei turned sharply and looked at her oddly. "What?" she asked the younger duelist.

"You know something about that thing, don't you?" he inquired, rather more forceful than he would have normally. "What is that thing, and why has it appeared now?" he asked, still forceful.

Mai hesitated, she never liked reliving her memory of the shadow realm with anyone, this boy was no exception…. But then she realized why Shisei wouldn't be shocked to see the realm of darkness. 'He must have already been to the Shadow Realm… and he lived."' she suddenly felt more at ease about explaining her experiences. "Okay, that thing down there… Its called the Shadow Realm." she started. "It can take your soul, or your memories, depending on the terms of the match." she said.

"Well, what is your soul?" asked Shisei, then he quickly added. "I mean, what does it stand for?" he figured he was being vague, but he didn't want to involve Mai in his and Kou's problems.

"Oh." Mai suddenly realized Shisei was the type of person who would never really be able to believe in magic, he was to observant and logical for that kind of thing. "The soul doesn't stand for anything, if you lose it in that realm, you'll be empty and emotionless." she told him plainly.

Shisei just stared at her for a moment, then suddenly he stood bolt upright. "I've just thought of something!" he was remembering his ordeal with Osmos when the tournament had started. "See ya!" and he was gone before Mai could blink.

* * *

Kou glared at the Soul Eater as she drew from within Namia's body. 'Okay, we have a major problem, I'm down to my last standing in LP, and she's just getting started, how can I beat her?"' he asked Chiro. 'And while your thinking, whose Thalius?"' he continued his inquiry.

'Hold on, first of all, we can't destroy her creatures anymore. Or we'll be burning our LP away with them."' Chiro thought to him. 'Next, all you need to know about Thalius is that he's a bastard whose burning in hell, where the bitch across from us will soon be!"' Chiro growled.

'Okay, I'll have to take your word for it."' Kou didn't feel at all like getting on someone else's nerves, and apparently Thalius was a touchy subject for Chiro.

"Here comes the hurt!" the soul eater slammed a monster down in attack mode. "Say hello to Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 (1600/1000) and I'll place behind my dragon, one card, your move." the Soul Eater was obviously enjoying her duel. "Oh, and by the way, I'll keep eating the poor girl's soul, until about half an hour is up… Then she'll have no soul left!" the Soul eater laughed manically and licked her stolen lips.

"Then we'll just have to stop that!" Kou stated, nervously sliding his duel disk a bit further up his arm to see the time on his watch. 11:15. They had till 11:45. He then drew. "I'll set one monster face down, end turn!" he told her.

"That was your last mistake, I'll activate, Shadow of eyes!" the trap flipped and glowing eyes seductively brought Throwstone Unit (900/2000) out in attack mode. "Now, Horus, blow that puny mon-" she cut off as all of the monsters on the field switched to defense mode. "Ah, your Zero Gravity, no matter, that was just a formality, I'll now switch my monster into attack mode, and play Heavy Storm!" Kou gasped as all of his last defenses shattered. "Then I'll set two more cards, and activate my second Backfire trap." the cards appeared as she said, and her lethal trap activated again. "End turn." she smiled.

"You bitch!" Kou was starting to feel some of Chiro's rage build up inside him as he drew and added the card to his four card hand. "I'll sacrifice both of my monster's for the mighty Sword Hunter (2450/1700) he smiled, confidence renewed as the mighty monster jumped from the card in attack mode. "Now, Sword Hunter (2450/1700) attack her Horus!" the warrior obliged and slashed at the beast, only to stop and be destroyed as a fire swept over it.

"Ha, you fell right into Widespread ruin, when it is activated, your strongest monster in attack mode is destroyed!" she threw back her head and laughed. Kou growled and set the rest of his hand in his M/T zone.

"Go!" he glared at her.

She bowed and drew. "My wish is your command!" she slid a card into her disk. "Now I'll activate, Level Up! This allows me to send my Horus to the graveyard," she began, Horus looked back at her reproachfully. "To summon a much stronger version… BEHOLD Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV 8 (3000/1800)!" she screamed, as a raging fire erupted on her previous dragon, and it emerged with a new set of features. "Now, Horus, End this duel, directly attack him!" she yelled, the beast obliged and spewed black flames over at Kou, who pressed his quick play activate, ignoring as best he could the flames that sprung up and reduced his LP due to Backfire.

Kou-1800

Soul Eater-8000

"I'll activate, Shrink, this will bring your monster down to half of-" he was cut off before he got to finish.

"FOOL, MY BEAST NEGATES SPELL CARDS!" she laughed while Kou went to his second to last facedown trap card, his last hope.

"I'll play one of Chiro's cards, Negate Attack!" he smirked as his LP were saved yet again. The Soul Eater just shrugged. "I'll set one more card and end my turn." and so she did.

'Chiro, were really running out of options!"' Kou thought to his counterpart.

'I know, just.. Defend, yeah that's it, defend."' Chiro told him, he was biting his fingers from all the pressure on them. Kou took a deep breath and set one monster.

"I'm done." he told the creature in Namia's body.

"Fine, I'll now draw." she add the card to her hand with the same evil smile on her face. " I'll activate one of my favorite cards in this worthless girl's deck!" she smirked and slid a magic card into the slot. "Its called, Third Degree Burns!" flames swept out in front of Kou, who jumped back on instinct. This was a mistake.

"AGH!" he shrieked as the skin on his back was seared by the hot fire which erupted behind him as well as in front. "What the heck is with this place!" he touched what was left of the skin gingerly, tears in his eyes from the pain.

The Soul Eater tossed her head back and laughed. "You felt your monster's pains last time, this time, you'll have your own to deal with!" her smile widened as she drew. "Now, my trap card has a simple, yet devastating effect, whenever I use a fire monster to destroy another type of monster, despite what mode its in, we both lose half of the destroyed monster's attack in our LP!" she elaborated.

Kou suddenly noticed that the flames were pouring up around Namia's body as well. 'If we don't do something, your girlfriend is gonna be soulless fried chicken."' Chiro commented. Kou glared to him as the Soul Eater declared her next card.

"Next, I'll activate Flame Shield, which protects me from direct damage as long as I have a fire monster on the field!" she laughed hysterically again, as Kou gulped. "Now, Horus, send his monster into oblivion!" the winged monster sent a spew of black fire that hit the defense monster, Kou's Warrior of Zera (1600/1600).

Kou-1000

Soul Eater-8000

'Chiro, I hate to say it but, I'm done for, I'm down to my last draw."' Kou weakly slid a card from his deck, still smelling fried skin from his previous singing.

'Don't be an idiot,"' he heard Chiro respond. 'WE ARE GOING TO WIN!"' Chiro encouraged him. Kou looked at the card.

"I'll first use Disgraceful Charity, to draw three cards, and you up to three cards if you can!" he did so and smirked. While the soul eater scowled and discarded what was left of her hand. "Okay, now I'll activate my second trap, Natural Selection!" a larger version of Horus (3000/1800) appeared on Kou's side of the field.

"What?" the soul eater asked bewildered. "Why do you have a dragon monster in your deck?" the soul eater was confused as to the sudden change. "And how did you summon Horus LV 8 (3000/1800) without the use of the other dragons?"

Kou motioned to the Natural Selection trap. "Simple, Natural Selection clones one of your monsters… and then destroys the original!" the false Horus flew down with a mad glint in its eyes, and bit into the neck of its counterpart. The true Horus roared in pain as it was eaten fully by the other dragon.

"NO!" the soul eater saw her monster eaten and growled low in her throat. "It doesn't matter, so you got rid of my monster, now you lose 500 LP as well!" she then reverted back to her cruel smirk.

Kou-500

Soul Eater-8000

"I'm not done by a long shot!" Kou smirked. "Now, activate Pitch Black Power Stone!" a stone that was indeed, pitch black appeared, it had more power than the strongest fire emitting from the Shadow Realm. "Now I get to put three spell counters on this card, and move them one by one to another card during my standby phases." Kou now looked worried, as he stared at his last two not activated cards, one facedown, and another, the last in his hand. 'Please, let this work!"' he thought.

'It will, just believe in your deck."' Chiro reassured, though he was also praying to himself.

"Well, done yet, your down to your last 500 LP, and I still have all of mine." the thing in Namia's body stated, twirling Namia's hair around her fingers. "You can't possible win without killing Namia anyway!" she laughed. "The only way would be to use a high level of magic I'm sure you don't know, to separate my soul fragments, from her soul." she elaborated.

'Chiro, is she telling the truth!" Kou questioned, eyes wide. Chiro didn't respond. 'Chiro, Chiro… CHIRO!"' Kou yelled throughout his soul. "ANSWER ME!" this he yelled out to the entire realm of shadows. He growled when he received no answer and glared back at the Soul eater, who smirked triumphantly. 'I cant' quit now, no matter what!"' Kou thought, he slid the last card he held into the disk. "I play…"

* * *

Shisei pumped his legs furiously, desperate to figure out the mystery before Kou was kidnapped, tortured, or worse. 'What's going on, what kind of Logo was that, it looked like… No, Osmos can't be a rare hunter!"' Shisei tried to convince himself of this, but it wasn't working. 'Just got to find that limo!'" Sei suddenly stopped, spotting Osmos and Siegel, Osmos's limousine driver, sitting at a table with three other men.

Each of the men in the NDA were laughing and drinking wine. Siegel looked out of place, standing like a stone statue in the middle of a party. "A', ya' know wha' wou' be wicke'?" the jack-o-lantern one started.

"What, Seamus?" the calculating, younger one asked.

"I think he was going to say," Osmos cut off the reply, and twisted around in his seat, looking dead at an approaching Shisei. "we should invite Mr. Aragashi in our little fiesta." he smiled kindly, which nearly made Sei puke, and stood up and strode over to the blond. It just dawned on Shisei how tall he was. "I suppose you wish to know how your friend is, eh?" Osmos asked, looking down at Sei.

The other men turned away, but Shisei could tell they were straining to hear every word of the conversation. "Yes!" Shisei responded boldly. "What did you do to the arena!" he glared. 'Should I tell him I know the symbol on their jackets?"' he thought it over, but before he could decide, Osmos took out a deck of duel monsters cards.

"You can save them both, Mr. Aragashi." he sat down, and smiled at Shisei. Shisei looked shocked.

"What do you m-" he got cut off as Osmos held up his hand. He was just one of those people, you knew to listen to.

"Mr. Aragashi, I will give you your own challenge, one you must complete in thirty-no," he studied his watch. "sorry, you only have fifteen minutes to solve this challenge." he smiled and began to draw cards. Shisei readied his duel disk. "Now, now, don't jump to conclusions, notice, I've stopped at three cards!" he smiled and looked at the three. He then took out a pen and notepad from his pocket. The other NDA members watched with interest.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Shisei questioned.

"You have however much time you need for each, so long as it isn't over 15 minutes." he slid the paper to Shisei. "On that paper are the names of three duel monsters cards. Now you will tell me whichever of the cards I could have imagined to put on the paper. The letters might be mixed up, you might have to translate the mixed up word, or many other things." he smirked. "You can give them to me in English, as that is how I've written them." he sat down to watch a befuddled Sei.

"So all I have to do solve three puzzles?" he questioned. Osmos nodded. Shisei smirked and looked at the list. Yugi Moto was the king of games, but Shisei Aragashi was the king of puzzles.

* * *

The List

1.Otrdnao lawl

2.Tvnrmr Vou

3.Dedication Through Light and Darkness

* * *

**Next time**: As Kou duels for his and Namia's life in the Shadow Realm, Shisei solves two of the three puzzles. Unfortunately Osmos tricks Shisei into missing the third. And just as Kou gets the lead he needs, the Soul Eater summons the Phoenix of Gold Fire, can Kou win before time is up? Find out on the next Duel Monsters: Maximum!

To Rex the Emerald Dragon: Thank you for your advice and kindness. Oh, and Chiro's Seal mystery will be revealed, but sometime around the actual Dragoon Island tournament, which is still a few chapters away, so don't stop reading!

A/N: Okay, I realize I didn't explain the puzzle thing really well, but here's a better explanation. Osmos put down the name of three duel monster's cards, but each of them is mixed up in some way, such as scrambled letters or mirror writing. You can try and solve it too, send me your answers and note all those that got it right. But just don't guess at the third one, you'll probably get it wrong (no offense). Well, goodbye, and review!


	16. Putting it Together

Disclaimer: Once more, I don't own Yugioh, nor the story line of Yugioh. But I do own this tournament, Kou, Namia, Osmos, and other characters from previous chapters that you don't recognize. 

Chapter 16: Putting it Together

Kou slid the last card in his hand into the duel disk, taking one last look at the clock. 11:35. He had ten minutes to stop the soul eater. But if what she had told him was true, he really had six minutes to find someone who could separate the soul eater and Namia from each other. Which meant even if he did manage to beat her, Namia would lose her soul to the Shadow Realm. And even if he could bypass that, the soul eater would still be attached to her soul. The chances he would find someone who could do magic at all, much less high level magic, was slim to none.

'I'm sorry, Kouichi, I didn't want you to-"' Chiro was cut off in his apology for not telling Kou the problem of separating the Soul Eater and Namia.

'Save it, if this doesn't work… Well we'll have a lot of time to talk."' he pressed the activation button. "I activate Replay, and re use Card of Sanctity!" he drew six cards, praying for luck, he looked at them. He looked away from his cards, back up at the Soul eater with a smirk. "Its over!"

Kou-250

Soul Eater-8000

The soul eater raised the eyebrows of Namia. "Funnny, you talk like you already won, when you have the least of LP, you'll lose if I can just get a monster." she smirked. 'As soon as this fool finishes his turn, it won't matter about his traps, I have the cards I need to win."' she was looking at the Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500) with glee.

"I'll show you how I plan to win!" he flipped his facedown card. "I'll activate my facedown card, Black Luster Ritual!" he discarded a card and his false Horus (3000/1800) disappeared. "I'll discard Buster Blader from my hand, and tribute my false Horus, to summon my mighty Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500) in attack mode!" he smirked as the Soul Eater Snickered.

"You idiot, Buster Blader wasn't needed as a sacrifice, you could have just used your Horus!" she noticed he was still smiling and raised her eyebrows at this strange behavior. "Do you understand you just wasted one of your monsters for no reason?" she asked him.

"I need Buster Blader in my graveyard for my next move to work." he answered vaguely removing Black Luster from his deck and summoning him onto the field. "Now I'll activate, Miracle Restoring!" he held his hand out in front of the graveyard slot and took Buster Blader from it. "All I have to do is remove two spell counters from my side of the field, and I can special summon Buster Blader (2600/2300) back from the grave, in attack mode." another mighty warrior appeared, and with a swing of its blade, its attack increased.

The soul eater was in shock from this latest move, but she concealed it well, still confident in her victory. "Even though your monster gets more attack points from my dragons in the graveyard, it still isn't enough." she smirked.

"Don't worry, I set all four of these cards and attack you directly with Buster Blader (4100/2300) and Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500)! Double Saber Slash!" the two warriors crossed blades and made an X kind of fashion, then they charged over and slashed right through Namia's body. Blood splashed onto the shadowy ground, as the soul eater smirked, not feeling any pain.

Kou-250

Soul eater-900

"Try again!" she screeched, drawing her card, blood still flowing from a deep cut on her arm. "Ah, now this looks nice, I'll activate Change of Heart, and Brain Control!" both of Kou's monsters floated over to Namia's field, still glaring with their brilliant warrior eyes. Kou gasped as she pressed another card into her disk. "Now I'll also play Premature Burial, which costs me 800 LP, but let's me bring my Horus back from the grave!" she smirked. "You see, the only way to normal summon one of my strongest creatures is to offer three monsters, behold, the Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500)!" she laughed as the Phoenix flew through the shadows and onto her side of the field. "Its almost over." she continued laughing, as Kou eyed his watch. 11:40.

Shisei looked at the puzzles with mild interest, trying to figure the second one out. He had already scribbled down the answers to the first and third. The first being Tornado Wall and the third being… well, Dedication through Light and Darkness. He supposed Osmos had given him that one to confuse him. Muttering to himself, he continued to scramble the letters of the first one. Then he looked at it in someone's rearview mirror. Nothing worked.

"Having trouble Mr. Aragashi?" Osmos asked with concern. He got Shisei's middle finger waving back to him as a response.

"No, I'm perfectly fine, as a matter of fact, I just finished." he smirked, and showed the paper to Osmos. "Tornado Wall, Gemini Elf, and Dedication through Light and Darkness." he smirked. Osmos took the paper back, then smirked.

"Ah, so you have, but, unfortunately, you missed the last one." he folded the paper and smirked at the smaller, younger boy. Shisei looked at him with a look of shock on his face.

"What do you mean, you gave me that one!" he glared hotly at a smiling Osmos. The other men in Osmos's party turned to see Shisei glaring at him.

"Simple, I put down Dedication through Light and Darkness, but in actuality, it was another card that hasn't been released yet, deemed Dedication through Darkness and Light!" he smiled evilly at a shocked Shisei. "It lets you summon a Dark Paladin by offering a Buster Blader, if you wanted to know, here, I'll give you one for being such a good sport." he smirked and slid a card out of his pocket, and into the pocket of Shisei's. "Cheer up, you have a card that hasn't been released anywhere else, you'll have something interesting to tell that boy, Kouichi." his smile couldn't have possibly gotten wider as he said this.

Shisei could only look down. He had no idea what kind of danger his friends were in, but he had failed to save them. 'Wait!"' he thought, he suddenly had an idea, Osmos continued to babble as he went over it in his head. 'It might work."' he took a deep breath, and looked up at Osmos with determination.

Kou gulped as the Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500) glared down at him, its eyes shining ferociously. Namia's body, now a pale color from the blood loss, smirked. "Whoa, this girl's only got a few minutes to live, much less duel!" the Soul Eater told Kou. "But, make the most of life!" she laughed at the boy across from her. "Now, attack his LP and in this duel, Phoenix!" the ceature swept fire over a ducking for cover, Kou. The flames hit his entire backside, but he knew he had to get up, he had only two minutes left to figure out a way out of this mess.

Kou-750

Soul Eater-100

The soul eater shrieked with rage, though it was quite a deal hoarse, Namia's body had been put through to much. "How-are-you-still-alive!" she accented her rage with force on each word.

"Emergency Provisions, I'll draw." Kou drew and placed the card quickly in his slot. "I'll activate Pot of Greed, two cards." he slid the two cards from his deck in a hurried fashion. His eyes widened as he looked at the cards. 'I can win, but Namia will lose her body and soul if I use this card."' he thought, looking at Monster Reborn. "I'll set one monster in defense mode, end turn." he told her. The soul eater seemed to be getting slightly tired as well.

"I'll attack your set monster." she smirked as his monster was blown apart, and he lost LP equal to half the attack of the Chaosrider Gestapo (1400/1500).

Kou-50

Soul Eater-100

One minute was left.

"Your wrong, I got that one right!" Shisei stated. Osmos stopped in his rant and looked at him with malice.

"I made the puzzles, Mr. Aragashi, I'm qui-" he was cut off as Shisei began to explain.

"You said that whatever you imagine the card could be, then I should guess at that." he began. Osmos listened with interest at how Shisei would trick the trickster. "So even though you had meant Dedication through Darkness and Light, you had to have first imagined Dedication throughlight and darkness, even if it was when you first printed the card." he finished.

"Ah, so you are correct." Osmos smiled politely again, and stood up. "You're a champion puzzle solver, and you did it all in 14 minutes, and 50 seconds, very well, they shall be safe." and with that, he clapped his hands, and strode away.

"HEY!" Shisei yelled after him. "IF MY FRIENDS AREN'T SAFE, YOUR GOING TO BE IN TROUBLE!" Shisei then ran the opposite way of Osmos, back to the arena.

Kou had heard of miracles, but never actually had one. The second hand on his watch had been ticking, closer and closer. Scheming with the minute hand, they were going to end it… 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2... He was at one when suddenly, the sunlight forced him to cover his eyes. 'Damn sun… Wait, there's no sun in this place!"' he thought, hardly believing it, he looked up. People were gasping and clapping, seeing the mighty Phoenix of Namia's and Kou about to lose. Blood was still pooling around Namia's feet. 'Got to go quick!"' Kou thought, he felt his own body draining him of energy, as he drew.

Namia looked up at Kou, with that pale and sickly face. "Kou, I'm sor- sorry." she smiled weakly, fell to her knees.

"NO!" Kou activated the card. "I play Monster Reborn, Reviving My Buster Blader, then I'll activate Scroll of Bewitchment, to make the Phoenix an earth monster, attack and end this duel, Buster Blader (4100/2300)!" the monster nodded and quickly sliced the screeching Phoenix in half. Bright golden feathers fluttered around Namia, who lay motionless on the ground, and then disappeared into digital dust. Kou felt the tears stinging his eyes, he felt tired, he looked around at the referee, who had just noticed both of their severe wounds. "H-hospital!" Kou tried to yell to him, pointing a heavy finger at Namia, then, he saw only black.

Kou-50

Namia-0

Kou opened his eyes drowsily, he saw a duel monster's card, Total Defense Shogun, standing before him. "Are you alright?" it asked him in a worried voice. He realized it wasn't his favorite monster, but Shisei, looking at him with anxiety.

Kou sat up and saw Namia lying in bed next to him, she had apparently gotten a blood transfusion, as she looked nice and tan. "Wha, when?" Kou began.

'You've been out for three days, your friend's match with Mai is going to be in a few minutes, it was post poned so they could clean the ring."' Chiro informed him. 'by the way, that was nice dueling kid. I'm proud of you."' he finished, with a mental smile.

'Chiro… thanks. But I don't really care."' he received a mental hit over the head, as Shisei looked at him amused.

"Man, I'd hate to have a voice in my head." Sei told him. Kou looked at him in shock. "Your other self came around and explained what had happened yesterday, so I know." he patted Kou's head as though he were a dog. "So don't you worry your pretty little head over Chiro." he smirked and ducked a real hit.

"Oh ha-ha, I'm about to bust my gut from laughter." Kou rolled his eyes. "What about Namia?" he asked.

"Oh, she knows as much as we know about the Shadow Realm now, I thought I should tell her." he looked at his watch nervously. "I'll explain the rest after my next match, Mai is probably already down there!" he left toward the door, flashing a thumbs up at Kou, as he disappeared out of the door.

Mai looked up at Shisei, who was approaching from the opposite side of the ring. "About time, now are you ready to get this show on the road?" she asked, inserting her deck into the slot, Shisei smirked and did the same, getting in a duel position.

Mai-8000

Shisei-8000

"Let's rock and roll!" Sei drew his five cards, and then his sixth.

Next time: Shisei and Mai begin their folly. Mai starts of strong, leaving Shisei in the dust with her Harpies. But it'll take more than a sexist rant and some smoking hot duel monsteress's to take Shisei down. See how the match turns out, next time on Duel Monsters, Maximum!

A/N: Okay, a lot to say this time. First off, Replay is not a card I created. I would credit Wolf General, but I've seen it in many other fictions besides his. So to whoever created such a useful card (or if it's a real one and I just haven't seen it, unlikely, but possible) then thank you for not flaming me with its use. Second, this is how Shisei got Gemini Elf for the answer in the second puzzle:

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

Now study that and see if you understand. No? All you have to do is write the alphabet like this, one backwards and one forward, then you use each letter on top as its corresponding on the bottom. In other words, the letter Z is the letter A and keep going with y being b and so forth. Finally, review if you could find it in your poor worn out heart.

To Rex the emerald dragon: As you have seen the puzzles were way to weird, took me while to think of the loophole in the last one. These puzzles were done mostly to add more depth to Shisei's skills, we saw how good of a swordsman Kou is, so I wanted to show you how sly Shisei is. But thanks for your reviews and support.


	17. Shisei vs Mai

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. Unless you don't know who Mai Valentine is. 

Chapter 17: Shisei vs. Mai

Shisei looked at his opponent with great determination in his eyes. He was going to face Kou in the finals, he had to. That was, after all, the entire reason they had come to the tournament. 'Okay, don't let me down deck!"' he thought, looking at the bottom card in his deck.

'I still can't believe I've been reduced to dueling in little get together tournaments like these."' Mai Valentine thought, thinking wistfully about her days at duelist kingdom and Battle City. 'But then again, it wasn't all fun and games…"' she remembered her duel against Malik, and shivered. "Okay, let's get this show on the road." Mai repeated.

"Agreed." Shisei nodded his head and drew five cards. "Ladies first." he told Mai.

"Thank-you!" she exclaimed, drawing her five cards, then her sixth. 'This kid has almost all magic and trap cards in his deck, he needs a lot of luck to pull strategies that can defend his LP."' Mai thought, contemplating her move. "Okay, magic boy, I'll summon my Cyber Harpie (1800/1300) in attack mode, and set four cards behind her." Mai's monster appeared, with four cards facedown behind it. "End turn." she moved a strand of her own beautiful blond hair out of her face.

Shisei drew, and his eyes went wide. 'Dark Magician, on the first turn."' he couldn't remember ever having such a good omen. "Alright, I'll activate Graceful Charity!" he slid a magic card with a pictured angel catching cards, into his duel disk. "Now I'll draw three cards, and discard these two!" he did as he told her and discarded Dark Magician and Chain energy.

"Drawing more cards won't help you in a real duel hon." Mai was now twirling her hair with her index finger, which held a beautiful diamond ring. "You better have something better to offer." she dictated.

Shisei only smirked. "Mai, Mai, Mai, this isn't close to my strategy!" he exclaimed, sliding another card into the disk. "Now I'll activate, Monster Reborn, to Revive the Dark Magician (2500/2100) in attack mode!" he smirked, now with five cards in his hand. "Now I have one of my favirote monsters on the field, your going to lose!" he told her with absolute certainty.

"That magic reject won't touch my Harpie (1800/1300)." Mai informed her younger combatant. "Hell, he wouldn't even be on the field if not for you Special Summoning him." Mai continued, now quite angry that she had to deal with another Magician lover.

"Your right, my creature won't dare to touch a hair on your monster's pretty little head." Shisei stated. Mai looked at him in shock.

"You don't honestly mean your not going to attack!" she asked, shocked by such odd behavior.

"Now I never said I wasn't going to attack." Shisei slid another card into his disk. "Its just your Harpie will be gone long before my creature launches its assault!" his magic card flipped. "Now behold, I'll activate, Dark Magic Attack!" the Dark Magician suddenly looked so full of energy it was near exploding. "This lets me destroy all magic and traps on your field!" his mighty Magician launched a magical spell at Mai's field. Her Harpied flew up, screeching in rage as she realized she wasn't the target of the assault. Mai mimicked her monster with a scream as her secondary defensed were blown away.

"You… HOW!" she questioned, not able to believe anyone but Joey got so lucky. Especially in drawing first turn combos.

"A good Magician, never reveals his secrets. Sorry Mai!" Shisei smirked at the outraged Harpie duelist. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll activate my Thousand Knives, which lets my Magician destroy your Cyber Harpie (1800/1300)." the mage almost lazily slid knives from under his sleves, and tossed them at a shrieking Harpie Lady. "Now I'll directly attack you, Mai!" with a last Dark Magic attack, Mai's LP dropped by the Dark Magician (2500) attack points.

Mai-5500

Shisei-8000

"End turn." Shisei finished, making Mai angry in how nonchalant he said it.

"Okay, now I'll draw." Mai was now desperate, she needed more cards to form a proper strategy. But when she drew, she was immediately satisfied. "Now I'll summon, Amazoness Swords Woman (1500/1600) in attack mode, and I'll also activate Amazoness Spellcaster!" she laughed as Shisei looked bewildered. "My card switches the attack of one of my face up monsters, with the attack of one of yours!" true to her word, the attack values for both monsters on the field were switched. So now the monsters were at: Amazoness (2500) Dark Magician (1500).

Sei's eyes widened in disbelief. "No, my Dark Magician!" he exclaimed, just as Mai's monster slashed straight through his once mighty magical creature. "You'll pay for that!" he growled at her.

Mai only tossed back her head and laughed, stopping to say her turn was over.

Mai-5500

Shisei-7000

"I draw!" Shisei did as he stated, determined to show her the power of the Dark Magician.

Kou looked at the televised duel in interest. He was still in the hospital room, and after quizzing Chiro on Osmos, Thalius, and the Soul Eater, felt more bored than anything. 'Man, I really wish I had my sword!" he thought to himself, not expecting a response from Chiro.

'Why, you couldn't practice with it."' Chiro questioned.

'Ah, Chiro, old buddy, old pal… Who is Thalius?"' he inquired, trying to keep his counterpart in his mind's eye. But Chiro was already receding into his soul room. 'Come on, just give me a hint at who he is!"' Kou demanded.

'Okay, here's a hint, Jackass!"' Chiro exclaimed, though the progress to his soul room had stopped. 'Now stop asking me. I still don't know anything about this Osmos character, and he's in the now."' Chiro stated. Kou had to admit he had a point. But it was odd that Chiro was so shifty about such a thing. 'So why don't you come to your soul room and we'll discuss this like perfectly normal… what the hell are you anyway?"' Chiro questioned suspiciously.

'I'm a demon!"' Kou exclaimed sarcastically. 'You idiot, I'm as human as you are!"' Kou rolled his eyes. 'Sometimes I swear your more of an idiot than I am. And that's saying something."' he finished, with a little laugh to himself.

'Oh, well in that case, let's skip the conversation."' Chiro stated. Then his presence disappeared completely from Kou's mind.

Kou blinked in confusion. 'Okay, Mr. Sensitive, one little insult and your mad!"' he thought, hoping for a response. When none came, he sighed and continued to watch Sei's duel.

It was easy to identify the look on Shisei's face as pure anger. His favorite monster was not usually destroyed in the first turn after it was summoned. So he glared at Mai as he drew. The valiance of a trully skillful duelist on his face. "I'll now start my turn." Shisei informed his female opponent.

"Wow, real hard to figure out, just go!" Mai exclaimed. She was now convinced her opponent was stalling in some insane strategy to delay her. 'He has little chance of drawing a monster, so then he needs something to protect his LP, something he probably doesn't have in his hand."' Mai contemplated her opponent's abilities and luck.

'Come on, these cards are useless without my Magician, I need something good."' Shisei looked at the card he drew and sighed. "I'll set two cards facedown, end turn." he motioned for Mai to make her move.

Mai drew, taking a glance at the card, she played and drew twice more. "Pot of Greed let's me draw two cards." Shisei bit his lower lip in nervousness as Mai looked at her new hand. "Okay kid, I'm going to wipe you out!" she slid her second Harpie card of the duel down. "I'll summon, Harpie Lady 1(1300/1400) in attack mode!" the beautiful half bird appeared. "And she increases the attack of all wind attributes by 300 points!" her Harpie (1600) grew much stronger. "Now that I have one Harpie, I think I'll get another, activate, Elegant Egotist!" she laughed, taking a Harpie Lady Sisters (1950/2100) from her deck and putting it on the field.

Shisei's eyes went wide, looking at her assemble of monsters. "Come on, then attack, if your so tough!" Shisei taunted. "Or are your birdy women not up to the challenge?" he continued. Knowing much more than the basics of duel monsters, Shisei knew that he had to completely and fully trust his own skill. But playing a few head games never hurt anyone. Except maybe your opponent.

Mai wouldn't let herself be tricked, she was ready for him. 'If he activates a trap, I'm screwed, but he sighed last turn, he got a bad draw."' Mai thought confidently, her Harpie Lady Sisters (2250/2100) getting an attack bonus. "Now kid, say goodbye to a lot of LP, I'll now attack you directly with all of my monsters!" her "birdy women", as Shisei had deemed them, launched the attack along with the Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600).

Mai-5500

Shisei-1650

Shisei bit his lower lip as Mai ended her turn. "Draw!" he yelled, though this time a bit half heatedly. Then he saw the card he drew and his eyes widened. "Okay, Mai, time to turn this duel around, I'll set one more card and end my turn!" he told her.

Mai drew and instantly saw her win. "Sorry, Shisei, but you just lost, I'll activate, Harpie's Feather Duster, wiping out all of your facedown cards!" she informed a shocked Shisei.

'No, this can't be… Wait!"' he looked at his last hope, the single card in his hand. Mai called her Amazoness to attack first. "HOLD ON!" Shisei yelled. Mai looked at him, an eyebrow raised, but then her skeptical look turned into a look of horror.

"No, my Harpie Lady Sister's (2250/2100) are on your side of the field!" Mai stated in disbelieving shock. 'He foiled my attempt again!"' she growled as her Swordswoman charged into a suicide. Then she realized she had still won. "Hahahaha!" she laughed happily.

Shisei raised an eyebrow at her now. "What's so funny!" he asked.

Mai looked up at him. "My Swordswoman (1500/1600) gives you all the battle damage, sorry hon!" she told him.

Mai-5500

Shisei-200

Mai looked at the LP score, satisfied she had one, and then screamed out in shock. "Sorry Mai, but the increase in attack only effects the monsters as long as their yours!" Shisei stated simply. "I had paid 1000 LP for the effect of Enemy Controller, bringing me down to 650," Shisei began to explain. "and if your Harpie Sisters (1950/2100) still carried the attack bonus from your Harpie Lady 1(1600/1400) then I would have lost 650 LP, making me lose, but now that your creature is mine, I lost only 450!" he finished in his tone of triumph.

Mai glowered at him and ended her turn, knowing she couldn't make it past her own monster. "Go, you brat!" she glared.

"Okay, okay." Shisei drew, enjoying the fact that he had gotten under his opponent's skin. "Now say goodbye, I'll activate Card of Demise!" he drew five times. "Now I'll play Change of Heart, to bring your monster to me once more!" he slid a card into his duel disk, which bore the symbol of a half angel half demon child, holding a heart. "Now I'll tribute your Harpie Lady Sisters (1950/2100) to summon my Dark Magician Girl (2300/1700) in attack mode!" Shisei had only just finished when he slid another card into his disk. "Now for me to set one card face down, and attack your Harpie Lady 1 (1600/1400)!" his female mage sent a blast at Mai's Harpie, which exploded immediately. "End turn." Shisei finished.

Mai-4800

Shisei-200

Mai glared in disbelief at the young blond that had somehow stopped her assaults and drawn his favorite monsters in quick succession. " Alright kid, I'm going to tear your hide up now!" she drew and set the monster. "End turn!" she stated this proudly, although she was on the defensive.

"Okay, I draw!" he drew, and looking at the card, he slid it into the disk. "Sorry Mai, but you lose!" he informed a shocked Mai.

"How do you figure that?" Mai asked the young duelist.

"I'll show you!" he slid two cards into his disk and his LP dropped. "Now I'll use Replay, and play Monster Reborn!" the magic card was reused, and Dark Magician (2500/2100) revived in attack mode. Mai realized his plan, but also saw it wouldn't work as of yet. "I know what your thinking, and I plan to show you with my next card, activate, Knight's Title, this allows my Dark Magician (2500/2100) to become, the Dark Magician Knight (2500/2100)!" his mage did indeed transform, it now wore the symbol of a knight and new warrior robes.

Mai raised an eyebrow at the change in appearance, but no change in attack. "What, is the new look supposed to scare me?" she asked with amusement. Amusement until her facedown monster was stabbed and blown apart. "Hey, you could have waited to attack!" she told him.

"I didn't attack, when my monster is successfully Special Summoned, I get to destroy one monster on your side of the field, and your set card would have done just fine." he smirked. Mai looked shocked, but determined. "Now, its over, my mighty mage's direct attack! Double Dark Magic!" he roared, his monster's obliged and ended the duel.

Mai-0

Shisei-100

Mai was drawing, when the holograms disappeared and Shisei was declared the winner. She looked up in bewilderment. "But your monsters didn't have enough attack power, his Dark Magician Girl (2300/1700) was at 2000 because he revived Dark Magician!" she told the referee.

"Yes, but then the kid had to tribute his Dark Magician to bring forth the Dark Magician Knight." the referee informed her. Mai dropped her Card of Sanctity card, and fell to her knees.

"I lost… AGAIN!" she told herself. But then a hand was on her shoulder.

"Come on, don't be so hard on yourself, you're a really good duelist Mai." Shisei, the hand on her shoulder, smiled politely at the female duelist. Mai looked up and smiled. Then she stood up straight.

"Your right, you just got lucky kid." and with that, she left a shocked Shisei in the ring.

"WELL!" once more, the announcer's voice was heard roaring over the crowd. "Looks like we have our final round combatants!" he smirked, as the final match of the tournament was posted.

Shisei vs. Kouichi

Next time: The finals. Such Magical times are sure to be followed by Magical monsters! And that they are, as Shisei and Kou's match begins. The leading duelist isn't clear. Getting cheered from the audience, both Kou and Shisei give it their all. Next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

A/N: That was a really hard duel for me, considering I didn't really want Mai to lose. I like Mai, but then again, what boy doesn't! Well, review, and be nice.

To Rex the Emerald Dragon: Yeah, my second puzzle was actually from a puzzle book.


	18. The Final Match

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. Unless you don't know who Mai Valentine is. 

Chapter 18: The Final Match

Kou rose from his hospital bunk and took a deep breath. After all that had happened to him and Shisei, he was in the final round of the 5th annual Japan National Tournament. To be invited to such a tournament was a great honor, but to make it to the final round…. 'Seto Kaiba won this tournament four times in a row, if I can win…"' he began to imagine himself surrounded by money and paying people to do his laundry and polish his sword.

'Oh yeah, big man, win the National tournament win the World Champion doesn't participate!"' commented Chiro, with a mental snicker.

'You shut up!"' Kou retorted. Chiro's voice was heard laughing in his head. Kou then only rolled his eyes as a beautiful blond, dark skinned woman entered the room.

"Are your ready?" Namia Shashimi looked at Kou and his bags. Kou smiled weakly.

"Yeah!" he said, perhaps a little to hearty. "As ready as I'll ever be!" he finished. He heard Chiro's laughter again. 'SHUT UP!"' he thought forcefully. Chiro laughed harder. Kou could just picture another version of himself (of course he had never seen Chiro) laughing insanely. He shook the image out of his head.

"Well, then you should get a move on!" Namia informed him. She could tell by the look on his face he was arguing with Chiro on something.

"Hey, aren't you going back to London today!" Kou suddenly asked. Namia, having lost her last match in the tournament, had no reason to stay in Japan, and would most certainly be returning to her home in London.

The female duelist nodded sheepishly. She felt as if she were leaving something hanging in the air, out in the open, by just leaving. She wouldn't even be allowed to watch Kou's next match. The schedule of a Regional Champion was very busy, after all. "Yeah, I- I have to go back today." she stated quietly. Kou just looked at her for a moment.

"Well, it doesn't matter, I'll see you again soon anyway." Kou said, vaguely. He turned and smiled at Namia with genuine happiness. "And even if I don't…" he continued. "I'm glad to have met you." with that, he picked up his bag, and left the room.

Namia blinked, for a small instant, in confusion. Then she too picked up her bag, and left the now quiet hospital room.

Osmos looked at the statistics he had gathered from the tournament's duelists. So far, only a few of the duelist were actually skilled enough to match someone like Yugi Moto. 'Hmm, I better get down to the arena, I have to make the announcement after the final match."' Osmos thought. Then his mind flashed back to the posting he had seen on the participates of the finals. 'Ah, yes, Mr. Nandao and Mr. Aragashi are going to be facing each other."' he, for a second, thought of interfering with the match. Perhaps turning it into a Shadow Game for fun. 'No, I have to keep those two alive if I want to have any hope of succeeding in my plan."' he thought. 'I just hope Chiro let's the kid duel with his own skill.'" Osmos thought, getting up and, for the final time of the tournament, left his special room in complete darkness.

Shisei stood ready in the arena, he had his deck, his priorities, and his goal, straight. 'Okay, I will beat Kou, no matter what. He will give me his all, and I'll give him my all!"' he told himself, as Kou entered the stadium. "Don't fail me, Dark Magician!" he looked from his deck to his best friend from so long ago.

"OKAY FOLKS!" the announcer did his usual announcements, but Kou and Shisei heard nothing of it. They also didn't see the LP score set. The only thing that broke their concentration, was one word. "DUEL!"

Kou-8000

Shisei-8000

Shisei drew his sixth card, he felt as though he had rehearsed this entire match, though he couldn't quite picture losing or winning. "I'll now set three cards, Kou!" he slid three cards into his own disk. Kou nodded to acknowledge this. "End turn." Shisei finished. Kou drew.

"I'll summon, Warrior Dai Grepher (1700/1600) in attack mode!" Kou inserted another card facedown at the same time as summoning a black clad swordsman with bulging eyes and muscles. "Now I'll end my turn." Kou told him.

Shisei raised an eyebrow. 'Usually Kou would be reckless and attack."' he thought to himself. Then he smiled slightly. 'Looks like Kou really has learned something from this tournament."' he slipped the top card off his deck. "I'll play the card I drew, say hello to Ring of Destruction and Barrel Behind the Door!" a glowing ring of bombs suddenly attached to Kou's monster. It's eyes bulged even larger as it was blown into pieces.

"Oh no!" Kou yelled, seeing his foremost defense gone and such a huge chunk missing from his LP. "Nice Sei!" he complemented his blond buddy.

Shisei smirked and flashed the thumbs up. "I'll end my turn there!" Shisei finished and Kou drew.

Kou-4600

Shisei-8000

"I'll start my turn with my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400/1200) in defense mode, end turn." the ancient warrior appeared in a kneeling position.

Shisei responed by drawing a card. "I'll end my turn as well." Kou bit his lower lip. Shisei was obviously trying to lure him into an attack.

'I could attack… but then I might lose my last defenses."' he though, still biting his lip. Then he drew, seeing his loophole in Sei's strategy. 'Ha, Total Defense Shogun, if he's counting on me playing an attack mode monster, he'll be more than disappointed by my summoning this baby!"' he finished contemplating. "I'll sacrifice my Celtic Guardian, for Total Defense Shogun (1550/2500)!" a deadly looking warrior with his blade crossed over himself appeared.

'Oh no!"' Shisei gulped. 'His monster won't be affected by my Widespread ruin trap card!"' Shisei had to admit, if he didn't draw a good card in his next few turns, he was dead meat.

"I'll now attack you directly! And remember, my Shogun (1550/2500) is switched into defense mode, where it can attack!" he informed Shisei and the audience.

Kou-4600

Shisei-6450

Shisei drew after Kou ended his turn, his Shogun (1550/2500) back into a defensive position. After drawing, he looked at his facedown card and smirked. "Now I'll activate, Reverse of Reverse, and use your set card!" he pointed to Kou's facedown card.

Kou shrugged and flipped the card as per Shisei's card effect. "I don't know what you'd want with Zero gravity Sei…" he looked puzzled at Shisei's smirk. Total Defense Shogun (1550/2500) suddenly stood upright.

"Now I'll also set this card!" Shisei finished, leaving him with two cards facedown and four hand cards.

"I'll start by summoning Throwstone Unit (900/2000) in defense mode, and now I'll switch my Total Defense Shogun (1550/2500) into defense mode!" Kou began, just as he finished, a card on Shisei's field flipped.

"Say hello to a card I like to call Tragedy!" Shisei's trap glowed as its effect activated. "This baby allows me to destroy all defense monsters on your field." Kou looked shocked at this. "the only catch is, you have to have switched a monster from attack position, to defense position the turn I activate it, your Shogun (1550/2500) fits that role!" the blond flashed a thumbs up as Kou discard his monsters.

"Alright Sei, your really handing it to my monsters, but what are you going to do if you can't draw any monsters?" Kou asked. Sei shrugged the comment off. "I'll set two cards and end my turn, go!" Kou didn't sound forceful or snide at all. He was truly enjoying this duel, a duel against a friend, as much as his blond best friend.

Shisei drew. "I have more ways of getting a monster onto the field than normal summoning, Kou!" Shisei stated mysteriously. "I now play Autonomous Action Unit," the magic and trap duelist was on a roll now. "this allows me to revive a monster of yours at the cost of 1500 LP!" Shisei yelled across the ring at Kou. "And I choose… Total Defense Shogun!" he smirked as the creature was summoned.

"Yeah, but It'll be in attack mode." Kou would have hated to see his favorite monster in the hands of another duelist normally, but when it was Shisei who controlled his monster, he could bear it.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that, I plan to use him as a tribute." Shisei told him, not as proudly though. He felt bad for offering another duelist's monster as a tribute all the time, but this was horrible. 'I had to make sure the monster I used was weak, so Kou wouldn't be tempted to use a trap."' he reasoned with himself, selecting a card in his hand and inserting it into the disk. "I now activate Monster Gate!"

The audience and Kou gasped. "Hey, Sei, that's a little reckless, don't you think!" Kou knew full well the effect of Monster gate, and for Shisei to use it, meant he had nothing to lose.

"I know what I'm doing. Now I offer your beast." the Shogun roared as an odd panel appeared on the field and sucked it in. "Then I pick up card until I get to a monster, if the monster can be normal summoned, I special summon it." he drew one card, two. Three..four…five…six…eighteen…twenty…. "Now, I discard these twenty-six cards." Shisei discarded most of his deck, and slid a card down onto his monster card slot. "And I'll summon, Dark Magician Girl (2300/1700) in attack mode, since she gets an extra three hundred points from me discarding Magician of Black Chaos, I only need two turns to end it." Shisei finished his brilliant move, and Kou had to admit he wasn't feeling as confident as he could have been.

"Okay, then are you going to attack?" he taunted. He was close to losing again, and that meant it was time to play head games.

"I think I will, attack, Dark Magic attack!" his female mage sent a stream of black energy at Kou, who held up his hands in a blocking action. "I'll end turn with two more cards facedown." Shisei smirked, pushing the glasses he wore up on his nose. 'We can win, Dark Magician Girl (2300/1700)!"' he thought to his female mage.

Kou-2300

Shisei-4950

"Okay, Sei, now it's my turn!" Kou drew and looked at the hunter with Seven Weapons (1000/700). "I'll summon, Hunter with Seven Weapons (1000/700) in attack mode." his short, yet powerful hunter appeared in a fighting stance. "And I'll also declare Spellcaster as the type of monster he fights to gain 1000 attack points!" Kou felt better by seeing his warrior look mightier, just knowing it would get the bonus when it did attack.

Shisei raised an eyebrow. "Um, Kou, you must realize you're a few points short in attack power?" Shisei asked. The audience laughed, making Kou blush and scowl at Shisei.

"I know what I'm doing!" Kou declared, now as red as a tomato. "So now I'll activate Blast with Chain!" he smirked, thinking about how sweet of a movethis wasalready. "Now I'll attack you with my Hunter (2500/700) who gains a total of 1500 attack points from Blast with Chain and his effect!" he smirked as the Dark Magician Girl (2300/1700) shrieked and was cut to pieces.

"Activate Call of the Haunted!" Shisei yelled, he watched as his deadly formidable Magician of Black Chaos (2800/2600) rose from the grave. Kou gulped. "Now I have an even stronger magician, thanks Kou!" Shisei told him.

Kou-2300

Shisei-4750

"I'll set another card facedown then!" Kou ended, with a slight growl. "I guess your not planning on running out of cards to draw, huh?" Kou then asked his best friend.

Shisei looked at his dwindling deck. He had about 7 cards left. Which left him seven turns, to end this. "No, but now, you get to face my real power! Get ready, Kou!" Shisei drew.

Next time: Shisei and Kou continue their duel. There may not be the soul of someone important on the line, but Kou and Shisei still give the duel their all. Who will win, with Shisei running out of deck, and Kou out of strategies, find out next time, on Duel Monster :Maximum!


	19. Announcements

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. Unless you don't know who Mai Valentine is. 

Chapter 19: Announcements

Shisei looked at the card he drew with satisfaction. 'Alright, I have a better chance now!"' he slid the card facedown into his disk. "I set one card and attack your monster with Magician of Black Chaos (2800/2600)." Kou winced, as, even with his monster's bonus, it lost the battle and depleted his LP.

Kou-2000

Shisei-4750

Kou drew. "I'll start with Card of Sanctity!" they each drew until they had six cards, Shisei worriedly, as he was even sooner to deck out. Kou looked at his new hand and smirked. "I'll play, Black Luster Ritual," Kou slid a card down and Shisei clenched his fist. "Now I'll sacrifice my Big Shield Guardna, and my Mystic Swordsman LV. 4 to the graveyard, to bring forth my own ritual creature. Behold, the Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500) in attack mode!" the golden armored creature appeared and glared down at Shisei. "Any last requests?" Kou asked.

"Actually, yes, I'll activate my Astral Barrier Trap card!" an astral shield in the shape of Shisei appeared in front of the Magician of Black Chaos. "Now if you aim to attack my monster, I can deflect the blow with my own body!" Shisei stated, preparing for an attack.

"Okay, you asked for!" Kou pointed at the Astral Barrier in front of the monster on Sei's field. "Your up, Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500), attack Shisei's Magician!" the barrier did indeed block the sword slash from Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500). "End turn!" Kou smirked as he gained some headway in the duel, and Shisei only had a few cards left to play.

Kou-2000

Shisei-1750

Shisei drew. 'Alright, this is going to be my last chance!"' Shisei drew and looked at the card. In complete shock, he looked at his favorite monster and smirked. "Alright Kou, I'll end my turn with one card facedown!" he informed his opponent.

"Draw!" Kou slid the card off his deck with glee. 'I'm actually going to beat Sei, after all of his talk and wins when I was a newbie!"' Kou was simply ecstatic. He had Black Luster on the field, and now, he saw that he had drawn the Buster Blader. "Okay Sei, this is it, I'll set one monster in defense mode, and attack again with my golden armored soldier!" the Black Luster Soldier, responding to it's master's call, lunged over and cut the Black Magician in half. "End turn."

Kou-2000

Shisei-1550

Shisei sighed, seeing his magician turn into digital dust was definitely not the pick me up he needed. "Okay, you want to play that way, then I'll show you!" he drew. 'Okay, I have one more turn after this, then, I'm dead meat!"' Shisei looked at the card he drew and then at his graveyard. 'It could work… but only with a little help from Kou!"' he looked up at Kou, who was laughing gleefully.  
"Alright, I now play, Double Spell!" Shisei yelled across to him. Kou stopped smiling and looked crestfallen. "By discarding this card, I can re use a magic card of yours!" he informed Kou.

"What card!" Kou asked, realizing he had only played two spells, none of which should be a help to Shisei.

"I choose: Card of Sanctity!" Shisei informed him. Kou blinked in surprise. "Don't you worry about me Kou, I now play Hidden Book of Spell, and add these two spell cards from my Graveyard, to my deck!" he selected two cards in his ejected graveyard, and place them in the deck slot. "Now I'll also set three cards facedown, end turn." he informed Kou.

Kou shrugged and drew. "Okay, I'll set one more card facedown and attack you with Black Luster (3000/2500)!" his monster slashed at Shisei again, this time, though, he was foiled by a mirror image canceling out some of his power. "Oh no, Mirror Wall !" Kou groaned, seeing his monster lose 1500 attack points. Black Luster (1500/2500). "Okay, I'll proceed to Main Phase 2!" Kou stated, he slipped both of his monsters off the disk and into his graveyard. "I'll sacrifice my monsters, to summon, Buster Blader (2600/2300) in attack mode." his dragon-slaying warrior appeared. Shisei smirked.

Kou-2000

Shisei-50

"Well, looks like you lose, Kou!" Shisei nonchalantly told him. Kou raised an eyebrow.

"How do you figure?" he asked his best friend.

Shisei drew. "I figure like this, I'll activate, Change of Heart, and bring your monster to me!" he informed a shocked, but still not worried, Kou. "Now I'll activate, Polymerization, and let your monster and my monster become: The Dark Paladin (2900/2400)!" a mighty creature, with eyes burning red like those of a true warrior, appeared, still in Dark Magician's robes of violet. "Now, end this duel Dark Paladin, directly attack Kou's LP!" the monster obliged and slashed its blade as Kou activated a magic card.

"Hold on, the party's just started, I think I'll play Shrink, which will split your mons- WHAT HAPPENED TO MY MAGIC CARD!" Kou looked, in complete shock as his card was destroyed.

"I get to discard a card from my hand, and negate the effect of spell cards, sorry Kou!" Shisei informed him. Kou looked incredulously at his magnificent win, which just turned into a horrible loss. And there Sei stood, proudly looking at him. "Nice match, buddy." he flashed the thumbs up.

Kou-0

Shisei-50

Kou came to his senses he flashed the thumbs up back, and the audience cheered in happiness at seeing such a great comeback. "Well, looks like you won!" Kou stated, as Shisei nodded and the announcer's voice rang out.

"Now for the prize to be presented!" the three tournament packs were shown over the large screen and given to Shisei, who was now blushing redder than a tomato. "Okay, and now that that's out of the way, one of our sponsors would like word with you." the announcer said. People craned their necks to see who it was. But there was no need, Higentaka Osmos was being displayed on the large TV screen, smiling that horrible polite smile of his.

He took the microphone from the announcer and stood between Kou and Sei. "Hello, everyone." Silence fell across the room, as everyone focused fully on Higentaka. "I have had a hidden agenda in hosting this tournament," he began. Some frowned, some nodded in full acknowledgement. Kou felt like twisting around and punching the silver haired man. "Now, the entire purpose of this tournament, for me, was to find competitors for one of the next biggest Duel Monsters tournaments anywhere." he stated. Soon the picture n the vidscreen had changed to show one of an island. The island had many waterfalls and plains, but the most noticeable feature, was a large, clearly visible from the bird's eye view, boulder in the shape of a…

'Chiro, is that a dragon?"' Kou asked the mysterious Chiro. To his surprise, he received a mental nod. 'Does this mean were talking again?"' Kou questioned. He felt odd, asking it as though he thought he should apologize.

'I never said we weren't." Chiro replied simply. Kou smiled to himself. 'Now listen, this could be important!"' Chiro gruffly commanded. Kou rolled his eyes. But Shisei was thinking along the same lines of Chiro, apparently, as he elbowed Kou in his ribcage. Chiro didn't seem to notice but Kou glared at the blond, who didn't look sideways at him.

"This prestigious tournament will beheld on the infamous, Dragoon Island!" Osmos told them, people whispered excitedly, talking about getting tickets and thins of the sort as Osmos finished the sentence. "As I was saying." the audience quieted down once more. "As I was saying, this tournament will be one of the greatest events in dueling history… So, naturally, it can only be attended if you are invited." everyone groaned. "Which brings us to my point of tonight, this is indeed going to be a tournament to remember, and these two boys proved their worth, by working their way from the level of rookie, to the level of pro." he smiled and put his arms over the shoulders of Shisei and Kou, who both felt as though they would puke. "So they will, two weeks from now, be boarding a boat with renowned duelists like Yugi Moto, Seto Kaiba, and Joey Wheeler, for this tournament!" the audience exploded into applause, and Shisei and Kou were let go off.

Shisei and Kou slowly backed out of the arena, waving and smiling in false happiness to please the crowd. At least Kou's happiness was false. "What are you doing!" Kou looked at Shisei, annoyed that his best friend was actually enjoying the attention from the crowd when he needed to discuss the whole tournament deal with him. "We need to talk!" he finished, taking Shisei forcefully by the arm and dragging his best friend off.

"HEY!" Shisei yelled over the roar of applause for him, the new champion. "I was enjoying this!" Shisei wrenched himself from Kou's grasp and then willingly, though still a bit reluctantly, walked with him through the throng of the crowd and into the darkness of the night.

Back at the hotel room, Kou had just finished glaring at Shisei. For Shisei had the brilliant idea to give his own mom a play by play of the match, in which his victory was secured by Kou's own carelessness. He twisted a few details as well, insisting to his mother that he got down to 1 LP and then destroyed Kou, who had "a bazillion LP" with an impossible combination that Yugi Moto couldn't have pulled off. "Well, now that you know my brilliant victory, I guess you'll be allowing me to ride home with Kou tomorrow!" Shisei asked hopefully. After a small argument that Kou only heard one side of, they had it all planned out. "Okay, bye mom!" Shisei hung up and yelped in pain as Kou gave him a noogie.

"Oh yeah, I had a bazillion LP, smooth Sei, real smooth!" Kou smiled. He may have lost the match, but he wouldn't lose this. Shisei stopped struggling, which was Kou's signal to stop. "Anyway," he began. "I wanted to ask you about this whole tournament. Are we going to go?" Kou asked.

Shisei felt it was odd that Kou would ask his permission. "Well, I guess, I mean, Osmos was obviously preparing you for something like this." Shisei finished. He looked up, and gasped. Standing where Kou was just at, was none other than Chiro.

"Sorry for the abrupt change kid, but I told Kou I had to say my piece!" he began. Shisei nodded, faintly acknowledging Chiro's large fangs and slitted golden eyes. "Um, er, I guess this is really our first formal meeting, so hey." he raised a hand in a waving motion, Shisei nodded faintly.

"So what is your piece exactly?" he asked, now turning back to his focused, observant self. "Does it have something to do with Osmos?" he continued to inquiry.

Chiro looked out the window. "I don't know why, but I feel like… I know that island, so I already asked the kid, Kou, I mean, if we were going." Chiro said, pushing his silver hair out of his eyes. "Now I'll understand if you don't want me to b-" he was cut off.

"Were all in this together, whatever the hell Osmos is doing around here… Your with us!" Shisei held out his hand. Chiro blinked for a few seconds, then took his hand.

"Yeah!" Shisei jumped as an astral version of Kou appeared along side his counterpart, Chiro. Chiro blinked in surprise. "Don't ask, I don't know how I did this." Kou stated. Chiro and Shisei looked at each other, and then they both laughed, eventually, Kou joined in to, and they laughed harder and harder through the night.

Osmos walked into a dark room. He saw his three partners standing and waiting for him. "Ah, you undoubtly wish to know of my progress with the God Snatchers Operation." Osmos said. The crew nodded. "Well, I think you will be pleased." he continued, now smiling, he turned on the light. "We have our subject!" the men looked at Osmos, who raised his finger and pointed. At first, you wouldn't have thought anyone was there, but surely enough, there was a young boy, very young, no older than Namia's second opponent in the tournament, Stopper. He looked up and smiled at them.

"My name is Ryuko… The true Master of Blue Eyes White Dragon!" the boy stated. He had a youthful growl. He was average height for about a ten year old. He had glaring cold eyes of green and his brown hair was in a braid that touched his shoulders. He certainly didn't look like a master of any dragon. The men raised their eyebrows. Ryuko, seeing their doubt, turned to Osmos, readying his deck.

Osmos smiled. "Show them!" he exclaimed.  
The boy removed a card from his deck. Rain was splattering against the window. As he flipped the card over, thunder struck, covering the gasps of all the men in the room. The card the boy showed them, was most definetly, a Blue Eyes White Dragon…

Next time: Kou, Shisei and Chiro approach the time that was designated for the tournament, all the while preparing and tutoring each other in dueling. Now the time has finally come for the Dragoon Island Tournament, the stakes are announced, and the competitors are ready and waiting. Can the trio hope to match the intense skill level of the Island's competitors? Find out next time, on Duel Monsters: Maximum.

A/N: Be honest, how many expected Kou to win? Oh, and don't expect me to update as quickly as I have been lately. I'm still in school, so I got to have a week off for winter break, but come Monday, I'm back in school, so I will post chapters as much as possible, hopefully two a week. Don't stop reviewing though!

To Rex the Emerald Dragon: Hope it was a memorable match, but it was hard with Shisei having only magic and traps.


	20. Approaching Dragoon Island

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. Unless you don't know who Mai Valentine is. 

Chapter 20: Approaching Dragoon Island

"You lose, again." a blond haired boy noted to a blue haired one. The two were having a very interesting duel monsters match, and the blond, who went by the name of Shisei, had just pulled an amazing win out of his hat with some of his direct damage cards. "You'll never win against me if you focus on only attack." Shisei said sagely.

"AGH!" Kou, the blue haired boy, groaned in misery. "I'll never win if you keep changing your deck type!" he insisted, bringing his own point to light. Chiro, a spirit that resided in Kou's own body, alongside the boy's soul, more precisely, smiled in amusement. "What are you laughing at!" Kou hissed at the astral form of Chiro, standing just over them.

"He's probably laughing because you lost!" Shisei laughed as well. Kou aimed a blow at the blond's head, which Shisei dodged. Then Kou launched himself at Sei and met the wall as Shisei rushed to the yard of Kou's house. "Your to slow in the head to duel," Shisei began to taunt. "and to slow in the body to catch me!" he snickered as he rushed behind a tree to escape Kou's reaching hand.

"OUCH!" Kou's hand had lodged itself into a small hole in the tree, and Kou had watering eyes from the pain. Shisei came out from behind the tree. Big mistake. Kou smirked for an instant, and Sei realized he was dead meat. "GOTCHA!" Kou yelled, putting Sei in a choke hold. "I expect an apology!" Kou smirked as Shisei twinged in pain.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Kou released him as Chiro's astral voice called them back in.

The two stood up and approached the back doorway to Kou's house. Chiro looked at them, both covered in leaves and dirt, and snickered. "Did you two make out on the lawn!" he inquired. Both boys tossed their fists at him, but only succeeded in hitting the file cabinet behind him and, in Shisei's case, hurting his hand, while Kou gave his piece of furniture a very large dent. "Hey, next time you should try aiming for something solid!" Chiro snickered again.

"Okay, enough." Shisei put his foot down. "What do you want, Chiro?" he asked the astral form of the silver haired man. Chiro pointed to the table.

"The mailman dropped these packages through the mail slot, I think you should open them." he sidled himself on the couch, waiting to see what was in the packages. Shisei looked at Kou meaningfully. Kou didn't catch the look and grabbed the package with his name imprinted, and ripped the paper off of it as Shisei tried, to no avail, to knock it out of his hands.

"AH!" Shisei ducked behind the couch as Kou opened the package fully. Chiro and Kou looked at him as he emerged a few seconds later. "I-it wasn't a b-b-bomb?" Shisei stammered, feeling a bit silly for thinking such a thing. Kou raised an eyebrow at his best friend. Shisei got up fully and muttered something about not really thinking it was.

"Smooth Sei, real smooth." Kou commented. Then he himself jumped up and grabbed a hold of the ceiling fan, seeing something in the package that scared him. "F-finger!" was all he squeezed out.

Shisei took the box carefully, and saw what Kou meant. A small, plastic index finger, was indeed inside of the box, sitting next to it were a chain, most likely to attack the finger, which had a hole around it's nail area, and a duel disk. "Kou, it's a plastic finger, these are from Osmos, and the rest of the guys involved in the tournament." Shisei looked up to see a relieved Kou. CREAK. Suddenly, the ceiling fan Kou had attached himself to out of fear, creaked and gave way, making Kou crash down onto Shisei in a pile of Styrofoam peanuts.

"Sorry, Sei." Kou apologized and helped him up. A few moments later, Shisei had opened his own package and was reading the instructions for the tournament. "Okay, it says we can have a team, if we feel the need. But only up to three members on a team." he started, Chiro listened intently while Kou nursed a head injury. "You must collect fingers until you have 5 of the different ones. Thumb, Forefinger, Middle finger, Index finger, Pinky." he stated, lifting up a finger on each kind. "Teams will need two of each." he then looked up with a disgusted look. "Of course Osmos would pull something like this!" Sei said.

Kou stopped rubbing his head and blinked at Shisei in confusion. "Um.. What's just like Osmos?" he asked him.

Shisei pointed to the finger lying in his own box. "Supposedly, a God told the people that to point out someone, whether to point out good or bad, would be pointing ten fingers at yourself." he stated Kou blinked. "HE THINKS HE'S A GOD!" Shisei exclaimed in exasperation.

Kou just stared at him for a moment. "Yeah, you need to drop all that coffee Sei, it can mess with your brain!" Kou snickered and gave Chiro a high five. Shisei rolled his eyes and continued to explain the rules.

"The duelists will be allowed to bet cards on the outcome of the duel, so long as they both agree to the terms of the match. But you must, upon every duel, bet at least one finger." he stated. "The top three competitors will be admitted into a special session where they will face Seto Kaiba, Yugi Moto, and Joey Wheeler!" he finished in shock. "These top duelist shall act as a team and the three top competitors shall act as a team as well. The winning trio shall choose one member to duel against Higentaka Osmos himself." Shisei felt like he was going to faint. "We, we could be eligible to duel Yugi Moto! Yugi Moto!" he shook Kou to make him realize the importance of this one fact.

"Sei, I know, you told us!" Kou smiled at Shisei, who was to flustered to smile back.

"Well, with them participating, there must be something going on." Chiro said. Sei nodded, agreeing with this theory. "Okay, then we better get ready for the worst. When does the boat come?" he asked.

"Next Tuesday, then we stay on the island for as long as it takes!" Shisei smiled at Chiro. "Now that that's been taken care off, let's finish practicing." Shisei took out his deck, Kou smiled and got ready for another duel.

The days that took Kou to next Tuesday were quick and unnecessary. He didn't really hear anything that happened in his classes. Shisei wasn't even as attentive as usual. He had two separate decks now, one that was made specially to take on Yugi, and another that utilized his old strategy of only magic and trap cards. Chiro had his own deck "in his soul" and it would change the cards of Kou's deck whenever he needed to use it in a duel. Kou, though physically prepared, hadn't done any work on his deck. "I'll win with my old strategies Sei!" he continued to say to Shisei whenever Sei asked him about how his deck preparation was coming.

"Okay, if you say so." Shisei would then respond, pretending like he had finally accepted this answer. But he would ask this to Kou several times a day anyways.

Yes, by the time the tournament day had arrived, Kou was up and ready. He met Shisei, who was close to having a panic attack, near the docks. After some encouragement, they were both headed toward boat 19. "Well, this is it." Kou said, looking up at the huge hull that would take them to the Dragoon Island Tournament. "Let's get on." Kou jumped over the side of the ship, ignoring the line. Unfortunately, Shisei's physical limits kept him from following.

"Kou!" he yelled after him, but Kou was long gone. So instead, he sidled into the line as easily as pie. 'Leaving me like this, bastard!"' Sei thought furiously. just then, a finger tapped his shoulder. He spun around quickly, to see… "Namia!"

Namia, a female that Kou and Shisei had met in their last tournament, was standing right behind a shocked Shisei. "Hey there!" she exclaimed, hugging him. Shisei blushed furiously at this.

"Um, hi yourself!" he said, separating himself from her. "What are you here for? Did Osmos…" he trailed off, not really wanting to think of Osmos. Namia picked up the hint and simply nodded a response.

"Is Kou here? Where did he go?" she knew he was here, but she had to make sure. She felt breathless when it came to Kou sometimes.

Shisei pointed to the large hull. "He's already on the boat. Hey, Namia!" Shisei suddenly looked at her as though in a whole new light. "Do you… I mean, Kou and me need a third member for our team, you know, so we can try and face Kaiba, Yugi, and Joey as a whole…" he began. Namia got the message.

"Of course I'll be on your team!" she exclaimed, about to embrace him again, but before she could, the guard took Shisei's arm with the duel disk on it, and scanned it.

"In!" he commanded gruffly. Shisei stepped over the docks and onto the ship, followed moments later by a flustered Namia.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up!" Kou yelled at Shisei, and then he saw Namia. "Namia, hi." he said lamely. Namia waved, though she was only four or five feet away from Kou. "Are you… in the tournament?" he asked. She responded by nodding weakly. "Oh, good then." he said.

Shisei looked back and forth at the two of them, clearly amused. He was about to make conversation when Chiro rudely appeared in his astral form and said: "Hello again, aren't you going to thank us for saving you?" he asked rudely. Shisei winced as Namia blinked in confusion at first, but then glared at Chiro.

"Kou… What the hell is this supposed to mean!" she clearly thought this was some sort of practical joke by Kou, and hit him over the head. "How dare you, after meeting me again, you start this nonsense, and OH!" she finished hitting him to let him explain how Chiro was actually a sort of ghost. At hearing this, she paled. "You mean.." Shisei burst out laughing and Namia blushed, rubbing Kou's sore spot. "Sorry." she muttered. Kou shrugged it off.

"No biggie, a lot of people hit me." he then smiled. "So, um, do you have a team?" he asked. Namia smiled happily.

"Yep, Shisei invited me to join yours!" she beamed at him. Kou smiled wider.

"Alright, then we'll put our names on the registry list!" he said. That they did. After they finished with the list, they went and stared out at the ocean. "I can't wait." Kou stated. The sun was setting as the boat took off. "We'll be the best." he finished.

"Yeah, the best team of duelists." Namia added.

"The world will ever see!" Shisei said enthusiastically.

"Or become the world's biggest team of losers trying!" Chiro yelled valiantly. Kou, Namia, and Shisei stared at him. "What?" Chiro asked. Then all four of them cracked up laughing. Not caring about the strange stares they earned.

After a very long time, the boat had finally reached the mainland. It took even longer for the announcements to be made by a few "underlings" as Kou rudely referred to tournament officials. But after that, they were off, into the forests of the Island, the goal was to make it to the castle on Dragoon Rock before the end of 3 days, with the fingers needed.

Kou had been the first to take off, it took a while for Shisei and Namia to catch up to him. "What took you guys so long?" Kou asked, tapping his foot impatiently. His other team members rolled their eyes. "Never mind, I just found a sweet spot for dueling!" he said, he pushed back some overhang to reveal a clearing.

"Yeah, sweet, but someone already found it." Namia said, pointing at an odd looking woman, standing in the clearing. "Maybe you should duel her!" Namia exclaimed, proud of her idea. Kou was ready for it as well.

"HEY!" he yelled the woman looked up. She was a petite woman that wore many rings and bangles, her head was covered with a veil and she had sunglasses that covered her eyes. Her skin was milky white. "I challenge you to a duel!" Kou smiled, just happy to be able to say the sentence.

The woman looked at him, sizing him up. "You shall lose, but, I will duel you." she said simply. She adjusted her duel disk, as did Kou, ignoring her threat. "As per the rules, I'll bet you a middle finger, and you will bet your index." she stated. Kou nodded in acknowledgement, hanging his finger on a low hanging branch. "My angels shall demolish you boy, there is no turning back." she finished. Her voice was sickly. She was also wearing a pure white robe.

"So you say!" Kou prepared himself for his first duel, on Dragoon Island. "I didn't get your name, though." he commented.

The woman smiled, and ejected her disk's holo projectors. "You may call me, Oracle." she told him hoarsely, drawing her five card hand.

Kou-8000

Oracle-8000

Next time: The duel against Oracle proves to be more than a tough one for Kou. He brings out all the stops, but her angels hold more abilities than any other monsters he's seen. Can Kou win his match and her finger? Find out next time, on Duel Monsters: Maximum!


	21. The Trouble with Angels

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. Unless you don't know who Mai Valentine is. 

Chapter 21: The Trouble with Angels

Osmos sat in a large, soft and cushioned chair. He was in the utmost of comfort at the moment. His plans were coming together, he had Chiro, the seal holder, participating in his tournament. And in the tournament itself, Yugi Moto would be offering a special duel to whoever made it to the finals. 'And of course, I'll make sure Kou, Ryuko and Kamishiro are the finalist!"' his lip curled as he pictured the many different ways he could get Shisei and Namia out of the way. Dismemberment, torture, or just the old fashioned Soul sealing? He was going with dismemberment when the boy with the Blue-Eyes approached him.

"Master Osmos, Mr. Kamishiro told me to tell you that the Oracle has come." he stated. Osmos's happy, relaxed face turned a nasty shade of puce, in anger, he jumped from the chair and rushed over to the startled Ryuko. "Um-" the child didn't get to finish his sentence before Osmos grabbed him by the shoulders and began to shake him.

"WHERE!" he exclaimed madly. Before Ryuko could attempt an answer, he was shaken again. "Does she know that the boy has the seal holder!" he exclaimed, still angrier.

"Sir- your hurting me!" Ryuko exclaimed. Osmos suddenly seemed to notice where he was. He paused and looked at Ryuko. Finally he let the boy go, straightening his robe, which was black and had diamonds laced in the cuffs.

Ryuko looked dizzy as Osmos sat down. "No matter, inform Kamishiro to strip the boy from Chiro, he'll know what I mean." Osmos informed Ryuko. The boy nodded and stumbled from the room. 'Damn, if that woman dare interfere…. I'll have to call Specter, Piercer, and Blocker, I suppose."' he thought to himself. Just as he thought this, a giant man strode into the room.

He wore a large black cloak, and was at least 8 ft tall. He had broad shoulders, but you couldn't really see much more of him as he had his eyes, mouth, and hair covered with the hood of the cape. "Ryuko has informed me of the plan." he stated. His voice was deep and powerful, like a bullfrog. "I shall do as you wish, but is it really wise, with Oracle here?" he asked Osmos looked at him for a moment, as though deciding on how much to tell.

"Oracle won't interfere if she thinks we won't use the Seals' power, which we won't." he hesitated, but continued. "We simply want to kill Chiro, so he doesn't make the mistake of losing control over the seals. The Divine Seal especially." he looked out the window, where the sky was a beautiful blue. "With all the hyper activity in the Egyptian Gods, you'll surely understand why we must do this." he finished. Kamishiro made no movement to acknowledge that he had heard, he simply turned and swept from the room. Osmos watched the door close, and sighed. 'I suppose I should meet Yugi and the others at the island's air station."' he thought, thinking about how they would be arriving any minute now. 'Aw well, they can wait."' he sat back and closed his eyes in a restful state.

Seto Kaiba was not used to doing things the "pedestrian" way, he hated it, as a matter of fact. 'Damn people can't even unload your bags properly!"' he thought, grinding his teeth at the way no one would bother to address him in how he wanted them arranged in his room. "Hey, Seto?" the voice of a child, no older than ten or eleven, reached the ears of the brown haired businessman. He turned to see his little brother, Mokuba Kaiba, looking up at him with a question lighting up his young eyes.

"Yes Mokuba?" Kaiba allowed a small smile to reach his lips as he addressed his brother. They had been through all of life together, he couldn't have imagined dueling without the black haired Kaiba brother behind him.

"When are we going to build Kaiba Land?" Mokuba had a slightly pouty expression on his face. He was tired of all the publicity and duel tournaments his brother got invited to. His lifelong dream was to build a land where children and adults could have fun as a family, even if they weren't family. This made sense, considering he had never had a life even remotely close to being so happy and friendly. "I thought the Grand Prix was the last tournament?" he asked.

Seto looked nervously at his watch. He loved dueling, every single aspect of it. Seeing the monsters appear and glare at your opponent. Seeing the effects of your beasts and the magic/traps that reinforced them. But most of all, he loved winning. Of course, his brother liked it well enough, but he also liked having real fun, not hologram fun. "As soon as this one is over, I promise." Seto said. Mokuba looked skeptical.

"You say that every time." he replied.

"Mokuba, the only reason I came to this stupid tournament was because Yu-" he stopped, about to say that Yugi was going to be there, and instead said: "you seemed so bored with watching me duel Yugi all the time, I thought maybe I'd let you duel in my place this time." he responded instead, thinking on automatic. 'Oh crap!"' he realized what he had said a little to late.

Mokuba's face lit up. "ALRIGHT! I can't wait!" the young Kaiba began to run around in a circle yelling, "I get to duel", as Seto thought about how he was going to let his younger brother down, or if he could find it in his heart to do so.

Shockingly enough, only a few feet away, Yugi Moto, Seto Kaiba's arch nemesis, was with his three best friends. "So a Priest and a Rabbi walk into a wrestling match.." a blond boy with a very strong accent started.

"Come on Joey, this is gonna' be like the fifth joke you've forgotten the punch line to!" a brown haired boy interrupted. "Don't do it man!" he acted as though a bomb were about to go off. The blond gave him a punch in the shoulder, and he responded with a tackle.

"Guys, have you seen my purse?" Anzu asked, searching everywhere. She moved a bag strapped over her shoulder out of the way to look under another bag on the luggage rack. "Darn, I can't find it anywhere!" she exclaimed. Yugi, a small tri-colored hair (purple, blond, and black) boy, sweat dropped and pointed to the bag on her shoulder.

"Um, isn't that it, Anzu?" he said, his finger still raised in a point. Anzu looked at the bag for a second, then shook her head.

"This is my carry on bag." she stated, lifting a stick of lipstick out of a small purse at her heel.

Yugi blinked and pointed to the one she removed the lipstick from. "Um, what about that?" he asked. Anzu placed the lipstick, which was a vibrant red, in the purse after using it, and shook her head.

"No, that's my make-up kit." she stated.

"How many bags do you have?" Tristan asked, stuffing a purse in Joey's mouth to stop him from finishing his newest try at a joke.

"AH!" Anzu reached over and grabbed her purse, Joey grabbed his jaw as she wiped the spit from it and placed it alongside her carry-on bag. "There it was." she smiled politely as the others face fell.

"Well, Kaiba's leaving, we should probably follow." Joey stated, picking up his duel disk, the only thing he had brought with him. Yugi nodded and the aura form of Yami, a Pharaoh that had gotten trapped in the millennium Puzzle, appeared beside him.

"I sense a great evil brewing, we must be careful." Yami stated. Yugi nodded to him, and followed his friends.

'Whatever it is, we can handle it, I know we can!"' Yugi responded happily, catching up with his friends, and preparing for the challenge of Dragoon Island.

Kou drew his five cards, and upon a signal from his opponent, the cloaked woman named Oracle, had drawn his sixth. "Okay, I'll summon, Warrior Dai Grepher (1700/1600) in attack mode!" the bulging eyes and biceps of a warrior leaped from the cards, and then the rest of his body formed. "And I'll set one card face down behind him!" Kou ended, his Magic or Trap appearing.

Oracle nodded and drew. "I'll activate Pot of Greed." she stated. "Now don't follow in my greedy actions, child, you must continue to see the light." she said mysteriously.

"Just duel, old hag!" Kou yelled, then covered his mouth. "Sorry." he replied. He had the sudden feeling of hatred toward the woman.

"Ah, the darkness does already obscure your path." she said, a sad tone in her voice. "I must bring you to the ways of light, I'll activate my Polymerization magic card," she stated Kou bit his lip, knowing a strong monster was coming. "Now I send to the graveyard my Marie the Fallen One (1700/1200) and The Forgiving Maiden (850/2000), to bring forth, St. Joan (2800/2000)!" she exclaimed. A woman with a beautiful glow around her appeared.

"No way!" Kou exclaimed, realizing exactly how luck of draws she had.

Oracle slid another card into her disk. "I'll also activate, Defusion, to divide my monster and bring it's original components to the field." she stated, true to her word, the angels returned. One was a dark faced woman on her knees, and the other was a praying woman.

"What? That doesn't fit!" Kou informed Oracle. She only continued with her move.

"Next I'll sacrifice my monsters for Guardian Angel Joan (2800/2000)!" her next angel, a kinder looking St. Joan, appeared, her wings spread wide. "I'll equip my protector with Cestus of Dagla," she motioned to a magic card she just played, raising her Guardian Angel Joan's (3300/2000) attack power. "now my monster has the ability to increase my LP by an equal amount to the battle damage she gives you." Kou gulped as she told him this. "And finally, I'll activate Premature Burial, reviving my St. Joan (2800/2000) at the cost of 800 LP." she finished by add in that last card to the duel disk.

"Oh crap!" Kou exclaimed as she called for her St. Joan (2800/2000) to attack.

"I'll end my turn with an attack from my Guardian Angel Joan (3300/2000) increasing my LP by 3300." she stated calmly, as though not caring about LP increases or decreases.

Kou-3600

Oracle-10500

Shisei's jaw dropped. "Did you see that!" he asked Namia, who also had a look of shock on her face. "To pull a combo like that together!" he gulped. "Now we lost a finger!" he cried, unfortunately loud enough for Kou to hear and gulp as well.

Kou drew, looked at the card and set it in his monster zone. "I'll end my turn there." he stated, not confident in victory at all.

Oracle drew and looked at the card for a moment, then she activated it. "My Sanctuary in the Sky activates, as well as my Marie the Fallen One's (1700/1200) effect, I gain 200 LP for her being in the graveyard during my every standby phase." suddenly, the duelists and their monsters were on a large church like sanction. Their surroundings nothing but clouds, some of which showered Oracle with restoring waters. "Now I'll attack your defense with my St. Joan (2800/2000)." she called. Her sword wielding woman lunged and stabbed the facedown Throwstone Unit (900/2000) into pieces. "And I once again end my turn with a direct attack by my Guardian Angel Joan (3300/2000)." The angel blew a kiss at Kou, one which stung a little, and decreased his LP count again.

Kou-300

Oracle-14000

Kou gulped, and drew his next card. Seeing it gave him an idea. "I'll set this card facedown, and one monster in defense mode, end turn." he ended with two facedown magic or traps and a monster.

The woman drew. "I'll activate the Card of Sanctity." she stated, drawing six times to replenish her hand, Kou eagerly drew three cards. "Now I'll activate, Shinato's Ark." A mighty boat with a glowing white sail appeared, glowing with energy. "Then I'll discard my Moisture Creature in my hand, and bring forth the mighty, Shinato King of the Higher Plane (3300/3000)!" the most beautifully winged angel so as yet to appear, extended from the top of the ark, and flew over to join it's friends. "Shinto (3300/3000), attack his defense monster." the monster, Big Shield Guardna (100/2600) was blown into digital dust.

Kou-200

Oracle-14200

"Now my next creature shall end this duel!" she didn't say which one, the Guardian Angel (3300/2000), stepped forward though, blowing another kiss.

"Hold on, you haven't gotten to meet my facedown card, Guardian Angel Joan (3300/2000), say hello to Negate Attack!" Kou smirked as his trap blocked her attack.

"End turn." she said, not at all afraid at this point.

Kou drew. "Okay, say hello to , Mataza the Zapper (1300/800) in attack mode!" his double attacking samurai appeared, glaring at its mightier opponents. Oracle didn't snicker or laugh, she simple motioned for him to continue. "Okay, I'll also activate, Monster Reborn!" he clenched his fist, hoping that this worked. "Now I'll revive my Big Shield (100/2600)!" his large shielded warrior was brought back in defense mode. "I'll also be activating, Warrior's Final Wish!" Oracle didn't look puzzled, but Kou explained its effect anyways. "Now I tribute a warrior type monster, to bring another type of monster on your side of the field, to my side!" he smirked as Guardna disappeared, and Shinato appeared in his place.

"Ah, your seeing the light, good, you must find the power of your deepest soul! Let it be light, not darkness!" Oracle exclaimed vaguely again.

Kou blinked, but shook off the confusion. "Finally, I'll activate, Burning Soul Sword, to tribute your Shinato, and increase my Mataza's attack by the a same amount as Shinato's!" he pointed to his Mataza (4600/800). "Now, Mataza, double attack!" he motioned for her monsters to be destroyed. They were, and she was left defenseless as Kou ended his turn.

Kou-200

Oracle-14400

Oracle drew her next card. As Kou blinked in confusion at the LP count. "Hey, why didn't your LP go down?" he asked. Oracle was busy looking at the card, but she motioned to the Field Magic card.

"Sanctuary in the sky makes all battle damage from Angel type monsters on my field zero." she placed the monster on the summon slot. "Now you lose, I'll summon The Agent of Force - Mars (0/0) in attack mode." she informed him.

Shisei's jaw dropped, but Kou and Namia held back a snicker. "Um, your monster is a little t-" he cut off as he saw the monster's attack growing.  
Agent of Force- Mars (14200/14200). "My monster gains the difference in our LP as attack and defense, so long as I have The Sanctuary in the Sky on the field." Oracle said. Kou dropped to his knees in disbelief. "Now, I'll play my facedown card, Hinotama, you lose 500 LP, ending this duel." she picked up her strong cards, and placed them back into her deck.

"Why didn't you use that before?" Kou asked, looking up at her. He was shocked by the loss, but all in all, he didn't find anything wrong with losing to her. Shisei rushed over to hit Kou, but Namia held his hand back, with some difficulty. "Or you could have attacked." Kou finished, as behind him, a desperate struggle was going on, Shisei reaching out to slice off his head with his own blade. Who knows how he got it. And Namia was holding him back.

"Your very strong willed, you must not fall to the darkness brewing within, here, take this, the signature of light." she slid a card out of her pocket, and gave it to Kou, who stood up and took it. "it will surely come in handy." she finished.

Kou looked at the card, Archlord Zerato (2800/2300). "This doesn't fit my deck theme." he said, not even reading the effect. Oracle pointed to the effect at the card's bottom.

"Oh no?" she asked in amusement. The first emotion Kou had heard from her. The shock of this made him look at the card in puzzlement, then gasp to see that it required the Warrior of Zera (1600/1600). He looked up to tell her thank you, but the Oracle, was mysteriously gone.

Next time: After the Oracle fiasco, the group still has three of the ten fingers they need. But suddenly they find themselves being challenged to a double shadow match. Its Namia and Shisei vs. Piercer and Blocker, which team will win? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum

A/N: I hope the duel satisfied you. Its getting harder and harder to make Kou lose, but this will be his last duel for a while anyway. And to all who care, Chiro will be having his own duel a few chapters from now, so don't stop reading, and reviewing.

To John: No Matrix jokes,sorry, but as for the mystery of Ryuko's BEWD, it will all be explained soon.


	22. Double Shadow Match Pt 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. You hear that, HUH! 

Chapter 22: Double Shadow Match Pt. 1

After the initial anger that Shisei had felt towards Kou for losing his duel, he was back to normal speaking terms, and the three were once again, wandering through the forests of the island, looking for duels. "You know what I just realized?" Shisei asked his teammates.

"What?" Namia responded to his question with her own.

"We don't have a team name." Shisei stated.

Kou frowned, realizing this was true. "Yeah, your right. What kind of name should we use?" he asked. Namia immediately began to think of names involving fire. Shisei thought of team names involving the Dark Magician. Kou thought of names that included gladiator, or warrior.

"How about: The Fire Brigade!" Namia asked excitedly. Shisei looked at her as though she were crazy. Kou did as well.

"What the hell do you mean, making up such a stupid name!" Shisei was beaten to say this by Kou. Namia glared at him angrily.

"Its not stupid!" she said hotly. "If you have any better names, then I'd like to hear them!" her eyes flared dangerously, but Kou got right up into her face anyway.

"As a matter of fact, I think "The Incredibles" sounds great!" he glared. Namia stopped glaring and fell to the ground with laughter. Shisei followed her lead, soon Kou couldn't get the laughter to calm down or stop. "Hey, come on!" Kou yelled at his team members. They didn't acknowledge him, but the next voice, they did.

"How about you all shut up." was a low, slow voice from the darkness. Immediately Shisei and Namia sprung together, holding each other out of fright, when they couldn't trace the voice in the darkness of the night.

"Oh, are the little ones scared?" asked another voice, this sickeningly high, but still obviously male. "Hehehheheheheh!" the voice laughed louder. "Wee little duelists, all alone and una- OOF!" there was a loud bang as the owner of the voice fell out of a tree which had fallen due to Kou slashing it in half. With the loud bang belonging to the tree.

"Ah, so one of the wee duelists can fight, I'm surprised." the slow, yet strong and low voice said. The small man that had fallen out of the tree grumbled and stood up to clean the bits of grass and dirt off of himself.

"Yeah, I bet you were planning on coming up here at night, scaring us and then taking our fingers, eh?" Kou asked, a low growl in his throat. "Well I'm afraid that won't be happening. Your not getting our fingers without a duel!" he raised his duel disk.

"We aren't here to duel you, boy." the low voice emerged from behind a tree. The two men were comical together. The one with the higher voice, was short and built with little muscle. The larger man, had the low and strong voice of a man. They both wore black cloaks and looked extremely dangerous. "We do wish a duel however." the taller one said.

Shisei stood up. "With me or Namia then?" he asked, not thinking it was suspicious, after all, Namia was the regional Champion of London, and he had beaten Kou in the last Japan tournament.

"Yes, and it shall be a tag team duel!" the shorter man squeaked. He inserted his deck into his duel disk. "My name is Piercer, and this," he motioned lazily toward the big and low voiced man. "is Blocker."

Namia stepped forward and looked at Shisei, who nodded his approval. "Then you bet your two fingers, and we'll bet two of ours!" Namia stated. She didn't bother to introduce herself, as, being a regional Champion, they should have already known her name.

"Oh, yes, normally that would be the stakes…" Blocker said. "However, this time…" Kou was waiting for an answer, when he noticed that it seemed to be getting darker and darker, and he could hardly see Shisei now…

'YOU IDIOT, HE'S CHALLENGING THEM TO A SHADOW GAME!"' yelled Chiro suddenly. Kou rushed towards the sphere of darkness, but before he could even touch it, the four had already disappeared into the Shadow Realm.

Shisei looked around in shock. "Hey, what happened to the lights? Where the heck did Kou go?" he asked, suddenly realizing the absence of these two things.

"Were not on the plane of reality that you know of, I'm afraid!" Piercer screeched in satisfaction, his high voice bouncing off the walls of the realm. "We are now in a place where losing a duel, means losing your soul!" he finished. Shisei paled. He had never been in a shadow match , he turned to Namia, who was stone faced and ready for the duel.

"Are we going to talk all day, or are we going to duel?" she asked. The opposing tag team and Shisei and Namia took off their fingers and sat them down in the grass, so as none of them could switch with a fake finger, and readied their disks.

"DUEL!" they all shouted, drawing their opening hands.

Blocker-8000

Namia-8000

Piercer-8000

Shisei-8000

Blocker drew first. "We'll go alphabetically!" he told them Namia and Shisei nodded in comprehension. "I'll set two cards facedown and one monster in defense mode!" he told them. Shisei turned to Namia, who drew.

"I'll start with, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV. 4 (1600/1000) in attack mode!" she articulated. Her mini dragon of the black flame appeared to protect her. "I'll also set this card, go." she pointed to Piercer, who drew.

"I'll summon, Drillago (1600/1100) in attack mode!" A monster made completely of drills appeared, drills growling as it settled into its attack position. "I'll end my turn there." he nodded to Blocker.

"I'll set three cards facedown, go." Shisei said without missing a beat. 'Now that they can attack, I'll get to see their strategy, and if we can match up to it."' Shisei though worriedly.

"Alright kid, I'll sacrifice my set monster,"Blocker removed the card from the disk and slid it into the graveyard slot. "to set this card facedown, make your move girl." he pointed forcefully at Namia, who smiled and drew.

"I'll activate Backfire, now if a fire monster is destroyed, one of you will lose 500 LP!" she set another card in the monster zone as well. "Then I'll set this monster into defense mode." she commented.

"I'll go then!" Piercer smirked. "Now I'll activate, Limiter Removal, and Double Drillago's attack!" his magic card increased his Drillago (3200) to above the other monsters on the field. "Now, Drillago (3200/1100) directly attack the boy!" his drill monster charged at Shisei.

Shisei, not expecting the attack to hurt all that much, just closed his eyes. "AHHHHHH!" he was suddenly shrieking as blood splattered on the ground of the Shadow Realm. It covered his eyes so he couldn't see to bat the drilling beast away. Finally, it stopped, and Shisei got up, though still bleeding. "Wh-wha..?" he looked around, disoriented and found that he had a large gash on his left arm. For the tournament he had worn a white shirt and black pants, a green windbreaker over his shirt. Now all of these were soaked in his own blood.

Blocker-8000

Namia-8000

Piercer-8000

Shisei-4800

"HAHAHA! Like the shadow Realm much boy!" Piercer asked with malice in his high voice. Then he and his burly partner began to crack up with laughter. "Your pathetic, fool, you shouldn't have agreed to the duel!" Piercer wagged a finger as Shisei found the strength to activate his trap card.

"I'll play N-nu-" he struggled to read with his gaze flipping in and out of focus. "numinous healer, giving me LP!" he smiled in pleasure as his gash closed slightly.

Blocker-8000

Namia-8000

Piercer-8000

Shisei-5800

Piercer shrugged and slid another card into his own disk. "I'll summon Bowganian (1300/1000) in defense mode, end turn." he stated. An odd type of machine appeared, it had one eye with a spear coming from the space around it, the spear was pointing at Shisei at the moment.

Namia glared at both of her opponents. "Are you okay?" she asked Shisei. Shisei flashed the thumbs up and drew.

"I'll be fine, just make sure you can take down these guys!" he commented. "I'll set one more card facedown and end my turn." he stated. His card appeared and Blocker drew.

"Okay, kiddies, now I'll set one more monster in defense mode, and activate Tribute to the Doomed, to destroy your Horus (1600/1000)!" he smirked as her monster was surrounded by bandages. Just as they rapped around the dragon and began to drag it below the surface of the duel field, it was surrounded by a purple mist and destroyed, courtesy of Shisei's activated Magic Jammer Trap.

"Hm, interesting move boy, now I'll have to end my turn, I suppose." Blocker said,stopping his motion of discarding a card due to Tribute to theDoomed's effect.He then let the only female duelist, Namia, draw.

"Ok, get ready for the burn, cause its coming!" Namia took her Horus (1600/1000) off the disk and put another monster in it's place. "I'll sacrifice my Horus (1600/1000) to summon my Phoenix of White Fire (2000/2000) in attack mode!" a mighty bird with white feathers and white fire blazing around it, emerged to light the Shadow Realm. Though the fire didn't help for long, as soon the power of the Shadow Realm overtook the light. "Now my Phoenix has a few special abilities, but they'll come into play later, for now, I'll just have it attack your," she pointed to Blocker. "tribute set monster!" she smirked as her Phoenix of White Fire (2000/2000) flapped its wings and blew the flames at the monster.

"HA! You attacked my Woodborg Inpachi (500/2500) which means you lose 500 LP!" he snickered at her move.

Blocker-7000

Namia-8000

Piercer-8000

Shisei-5800

Blocker's eyes widened as he saw his own LP count on his all black duel disk. "What happened, you should have lost LP, not me!" he glared at Namia.

"True, but the first Special Ability of my monster allows it to deal you all the battle damage I should take!" she pointed again at Blocker. "Nice try, now I'll end my turn!" she said. "Oh and my Horus gives you 500 for the effect of Backfire!" she finished, Piercer drew.

"Alright, now my Bowganian (1300/1000) will activate it's special ability!" he smirked as Namia and Shisei wondered what this was. Shisei didn't have to wonder long. He had given Namia a look, when he heard something swish by his ear. He looked at the shadows behind him to see a spear that had previously been attached to Bowganian. "Hahaha! Scared? My Bowganian allows me to deal you 600 direct damage per turn!" Piercer exclaimed as Shisei gulped. "And that was just my standby phase, now I'll also activate, Scapegoat!" he smirked as three miniature sheep of many different colors appeared on his field. "End turn." Piercer ended and Sei drew.

Blocker-7000

Namia-8000

Piercer-8000

Shisei-5200

"Alright, I'll start by playing, Equal Sharing!" he flipped a magic card that Namia had never heard of. "Now everyone gets as many tokens as one person has on the field, if they can't summon that many, then they must tribute monsters until they can!" Shisei smirked as Four sheep tokens appeared on his and Namia's field, and Blocker got rid of his facedown defense monster to receive four. "Now I'll end my turn!" he smirked.

Blocker shrugged and drew his next card. "Well, what do you know, I've drawn quite aninteresting card, say hello to my Token Thanksgiving!" he smirked as all of the scapegoats disappeared and his LP increased. "This destroys all tokens and gives me 800 LP for each one!" his laughter hardly stopped long enough for him to say this, as he was covered in a shimmering light.

Blocker-19800

Namia-8000

Piercer-8000

Shisei-5200

Namia looked at Blocker's LP with shock. 'He has more LP than me and Shisei put together!"' she thought to herself as Blocker switched the turn to her. "Okay, I'll draw!" she did so, though not very confidently. Seeing the card renewed her confidence. "Okay, I'll activate Pot of Greed!" she drew twice more. "Now get ready, I'll activate, Third Degree Burns!" she slid the card into her disk. "Now whenever I use a fire-type monster to destroy another type, we all lose half of the destroyed monster's attack in our LP!" she smirked, then inserted another card. "Next, Flame Shield will protect anyone from direct damage as long as they have a fire monster!" she stated. "Finally, I'll summon Blazing Inpachi (1850/0) on my partner's field!" she declared as a flaming tree that stood on it's bark appeared before Sei. "Now, attack Piercer's Bowganian (1300/1000)!" she commanded her Phoenix of White Fire (2000/2000).

"Not so fast girly, I'll activate Mirror Force, to blow your attack back at you!" he smirked, but Namia just discarded a card and his Bowganian, and Namia's Phoenix, stayed safely on the field. "Wait, what happened, my trap didn't work!" Piercer questioned in his high voice. The two immediately looked to Shisei's field, expecting to see another jam card.

"Not me this time, but Namia!" Shisei smirked and pointed towards Namia.

"Oh, the other ability of my Phoenix allows it to stay on the field after an attack or effect, as long as I discard a card." Namia said with boredom.

"Oh well, your attack was still negated, so now its my turn!" Piercer said, drawing. "Now I'll heat things up with Bowganian's (1300/1000) effect, Mini Spear Shot!" he smirked as Shisei hit the ground to avoid a minituare dart.

Blocker-19800

Namia-8000

Piercer-8000

Shisei-4600

Shisei growled in rage at being the only one targeted.

"Now I'll also play cost down!"Piercer laughed as Namia and Shisei paled. "This lets me play a stronger monster with one less tribute, so I'll sacrifice my Bowganian, for the Perfect Machine King (2700/1500) in attack mode!" Piercer's mighty monster appeared in the same spot his smaller one had dissapeared from, bursting with weaponry. It had gattling guns and missile launchers ready and waiting to fire on command. "Now my creature gains 500 extra attack points for every machine type monster but himself on the field!" he smirked as his Machine King (3200/1500) got an attack bonus due to Woodborg Inpachi (500/2500). "So I'll now attack your pathetic Phoenix (2000/2000)!" he roared. His monster charged up his missiles, but Namia discarded the last card in her hand sadly. The Machine King paused and closed it's missile ports. "Haha, end turn!"

Blocker-19800

Namia-8000

Piercer-6800

Shisei-4800

Shisei drew with a glare. He then looked at the card and smirked. "I'll set this card and switch my Inpachi (1850/0) into defense mode, end turn!" he said. Blocker drew.

"Hm, I'm afraid your souls are ours." he said calmly. Shisei and Namia blinked. "Now, I'll activate, Soul Ressurection, to revive one normal monster in defense mode, my first set monster, Battle Footballer (1000/2100) will do just fine!" he began in his low voice. "Next, I'll sacrifice both of these beasts, for my own Perfect Machine King (2700/1500)!" another machine appeared on his field, and both of them had 3200 attack points. "Now, my monster will attack your bird!" Blocker pointed to Namia's monster, not caring about LP loss. Namia winced as her beast was destroyed. "I'll set this card and end my turn." he finished.

Blocker-18100

Namia-8000

Piercer-6800

Shisei-4800

Namia drew with newfound determination. 'We can't lose, Kou still needs us!"' she thought. She looked at the card she had drawn, and smirked. "Now I'll summon another Phoenix, say hello to the Phoenix of Blue Fire (1500/1500)!" a bird surrounded by blue flames appeared. "Now let's play for real!" Namia smirked as her LP dropped.

Kou looked at the sphere of darkness, beginning to feel how Shisei had during the times he had gone into the Shadow Realm. 'Chiro, we have to do something, anything!"' he told Chiro in his mind.

'I know, but there isn't anything we can do!"' Chiro responded. 'Their both good duelists, I'm sure they'll be fine!"' tried to reassure Kou, but this was hard to do when it sounded like he was trying to convince himself as well.

Kou gulped and tried to see through the sphere for the umtempth time. "Stay safe guys, stay safe." he finally said, looking away from the sphere, and toward the bright blue sky above.

Next time: Kou is lucky he doesn't have double duel against such maniacs as Blocker and Piercer. But Namia and Shisei are dueling them and it takes every skill Shisei has to protect Namia when the power of her Phoenixes are blown away by the traps of Blocker. Can our duo win? Find out next time on Duel Monsters Maximum!

A/N: Well, that was the second chapter this week, I'll still try and get another few, the two chapters a week thing isn't a maximum, its a minimum, so don't worry, as long as you keep reviewing, I'll have enough energy to type up a few chapters.


	23. Double Shadow Match Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, but I do own the characters that you don't recognize. Unless you don't know who Mai Valentine is. 

Chapter 23: Double Shadow Match Pt. 2

Blocker-18100

Namia-4500

Piercer-6800

Shisei-4800

Shisei smirked as he realized what the drastic reduction in LP meant. 'She's about to summon her strongest Phoenix, now maybe we can get some headway in this duel."' he thought.

"Now I'll use my Phoenix of Blue Fire's (1500/1500) special ability!" Namia exclaimed. "This ability lets me pay any number of LP, then special summon a Phoenix monster with the same attack of the LP paid!" Golden fire spurted up from the depths of the Shadow Realm as a beautiful Phoenix Song filled the room. Soon a giant bird with the brilliantly golden plummage of the God card Ra's standard, appeared. "Say hello to the Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500) in attack mode. Scared yet?" Namia smirked with full confidence in her monster.

"Your not going to touch our LP, even with that overgrown chicken." Piercer squeaked in his annoying voice. "Right Blocko?" he asked his duel partner.

"Your going to lose your Phoenix (3500/3500) if your not careful." Blocker said vaguely.

"Okay, instead of attacking, I'll activate my Phoenix's special ability!" Namia exclaimed. Shisei remebered seeing her use the Phoenix's ability during her duel with Stopper. Blocker smirked in full confidence. "Now I'll sacri-" Namia was cut off as Blocker flipped his trap.

"No you won't, I'll activate Divine Wrath, which lets me discard my last card," he slid the final card in his hand into the duel disk's graveyard slot. "to negate the effect of an effect monster and destroy the monster!" The Phoenix was suddenly struck by a holy bolt of white lightning from the sky, and it's ability was negated. "Nice try, your Phoenix didn't even get one turn of the field!" Blocker smirked as Namia stared in awe at the area where her Phoenix once was.

"I'll end my turn." Namia said, now that she had no cards in her hand, and her Phoenix of Blue Fire (1500/1500) and set monster being her only defense. She was definitely angry that all her Phoenix had managed to do was lower Blocker's LP more.

Blocker-17600

Namia-4500

Piercer-6800

Shisei-4800

Shisei looked at her field with anxiety as Piercer drew his card. "Ah, I've drawn my Piercing Mech (1000/0) and I'll summon him to the field in attack mode!" Another machine, this one with drills and a glowing red eye, appeared next to his Machine King (3700/1200), whose power rose due to it being a machine.

Shsei looked at his opponent's card in wonderment. " I've never heard of that card before." he stated simply.

"I'll bet you haven't!" Piercer was thoroughly over enjoying his opponents' clueless nature. "Now my creature has no effect, but, when combined together with my Perfect Machine King (3700/1200) it has the power to take anything down!" he laughed as he slid another of his two cards into his disk. "Now I play Polymerization, to combine my machinations to form… Perfect Drill Mech (500/0) in attack mode!" he laughed as Shisei blinked in surprise.

The machine that now stood on the field looked like a cross between Machine King and a Drillago. Drills were protruding from every end of the marching machine man as it moved forward, onto the field of Piercer, ready to drill into it's opponent's. "Your monster has a special ability, doesn't it?" Sei asked, ready for the worst.

Piercer's face almost split, he was smiling so widely. "True, my monster may attack your LP directly!" he recited, as his creature glared and charged for an attack. Shisei was unaware of which way to dodge, as suddenly the machine was nowhere to be seen.

I'll activate my facedown card!" Shisei suddenly said, not ready to be drilled into once more. "My Mirror Force wil- Wha!" he blinked as his flipped trap shuddered and burst into thousands of tiny pieces. "Your monster ne- AGHHH!" Shisei didn't get to finish before he was swatting at his left leg, which was being drilled into by the newly formed machine. Finally, the drilling stopped and Shisei clasped his leg with tears in his eyes.

"Fool, my creature negates the effects of all trap and magic cards with widespread effects, nice try!" Piercer informed his opponent. "Now I'll set this last card facedown, and end my turn." the duel turned to Shisei, who had torn off a piece of his suit to rap around his bleeding ankle.

Blocker-17600

Namia-4500

Piercer-6800

Shisei-3800

Namia looked at Shsei's LP in shock. "Wait a minute, your monster had only 500 attack points!" she exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Piercer.

"Ah, but my creature is a fusion between Perfect Machine King, and my Pierce Mech! So it has several effects, one of them is to gain 500 attack points for each machine but itself!" he smirked as his Drill Mech (1500/0) grew larger. "Oh, and a successful attack adds 500 additional points to my mechanism!" Piercer tossed back his head as Shisei drew and slid the card into his disk.

"I'll activate, Card of Sanctity!" he said, ignoring Namia's protest. Both other men shrugged and drew six times, Namia growled and did the same. Shisei looked at his own new hand, but Blocker suddenly snickered. "What now?" Shisei asked in a hoarse, worn out voice.

"You've just given me everything I need to win this duel!" Blocker said in a booming voice. "And next turn, I'll play my ultimate monster, and wipe your from the duel!" he roared with laughter, and giving Shisei and Namia no clue as to what monster might emerge in the next turn.

Kamishiro walked through the dense forests, looking for the perfect place for his duel. His white cloak swishing around his heels. The many clearings he had seen earlier would not be suitable to take Chiro's life.

'No, every place I've seen would only dishonor me if I were to defeat the miscreant at the deemed area." he thought in sadness. Just as he was going to settle for a normal shadow game, he found it. 'Ah, yes, now to find Chiro!"' he thought. The place he had found was near the edge of the island. The water was running nice and steady through a stream, and it seemed appropriate, as only just out of human viewing was an orb of shadows…

Kou was sleeping in the most peaceful of ways, beautiful things flashing through his mind's eye. He and Namia on a date. He and Namia moving in together. He and Shisei kissing… Wait, Shisei…? "AHHHH!" Kou jerked awake and shot up to hit his head on the tree branch.

"You idiot!" Chiro's astral form laughed. Reading Kou's mind was so much fun, then imprinting images into his alter ego's mind brought him even more joy. "You and Shisei expecting kids anytime soon?" Chiro commented, he tossed back his head and gave a hearty laugh.

"Hardy har har!" Kou tossed a punch that faded through his other personality as though he was just the air. "Why do have to torture me so?" he stated in tiredness.

Chiro was about to respond, when he suddenly tensed up. 'What the hell, is that…. A duelist!"' he had suddenly sensed a dark energy rushing their way. "Kou, someone's coming!" Chiro said.

Kou blinked and looked around for the noise of a person. "Um, are you sure?" he said, apparently amused.

Chiro only stood up. "Let me use the body." he said. Kou blinked.

"What do you mean, the body !" Kou asked in exasperation. Chiro turned around and faced him, the pupils of his golden yellow eyes slitted. His fangs looking sharper than normal. His look reminded Kou of when they first met, being choked by the strange man. He then nodded meekly.

After a few minutes the glow of soul changing was diminished and Chiro was standing in the same place where Kou was. He jumped through the woods with incredible speed suddenly. 'If this is you, Thalius, then I owe you something big!"' he thought.

'Who's-"' Kou began to think.

'DON'T ASK!"' Chiro responded. Kou only shrugged in his soul room.

"I'll set four cards facedown, and end my turn." Shisei said. Blocker smirked and drew his next card.

He didn't glance at it before sliding another one onto the disk. "I'll bring my Blocking Mech (0/1000) to the field in defense mode." he began. Another defensive monster appeared, this one was a beeping computer kind of machine that had three arms, each with a brilliantly gold shield. "Then I'll activate Polymerization!" he hardly paused before removing two cards from his disk, and adding two more while depositing the others to the graveyard. "Behold, Perfect Defense Mech (0/3000) in defensive mode." a new monster, created from Blocker's older beast's, appeared. This mech was a Machine King surrounded by Shields and it appeared to have slightly tougher armor.

"Holy crap!" Shisei yelled. Both of the beast's were powerful, and each also had a high attack or defense stat. He turned to Namia, who didn't seem to have a plan at the moment.

"Yes, be shocked, be afraid!" Blocker voiced in delight. "My beast gains only 200 additional points for each machine on the field. However.." he smirked as his Perfect Defense Mech (0/3200) grew stronger. "my beast will create a Defense Token, whenever I draw a card!" he smirked and turned the move to Namia. "Make your pathetic move girl!" he commanded.

'He didn't set any cards, I have to risk an attack on Piercer's machine… otherwise, we'll be in deep trouble!" she thought, drawing her next card. 'No, not a monster!"' she looked at her hand, which consisted of useless magic and trap cards. "I'll set two cards facedown!" she stated, ending her turn.

Piercer smirked in delight and drew his next card. "Ah, perfect, I'll start by playing fissure, and bury the girl's monster!" Piercer pointed to Namia's Phoenix (1500/1500), which flew up to stop from falling underground. "DIE!" Piercer finally shrieked. The Phoenix cringed at the loud noise and stopped flapping, just for a second. But it was enough, with one final look of sadness at Namia, it fell into the ground.

"NO!" Namia yelled sadly as the opening in the shadowy floor closed, crushing her Phoenix. This would make three of her best monster's put in their place by Piercer and Blocker. 'Are my Phoenixes to weak… or am I too weak?"' she wondered to herself, sadness setting in. 'I'm sorry."' she thought. Shisei's yell brought her back to reality.

She looked to see he only had three facedown cards on his own field now, and realized he must have used a magic or trap. But apparently to no avail, as he was once more drenched in blood, now looking several shades whiter. "Tr-traps… wo-won't help, an-anot-another ef-effec-t!" he clenched the hole in his chest, which was newly formed, and continued, much to the amusement of Blocker and Piercer. "but ma-magic wo-works, and sw-swords bur-burn thr-through ef-effects." he finally finished with his sentence, and fell back on the realm's evil shadows in exhaustion.

It took a while for Namia to understand why he hadn't just said it negates targeting traps too. 'He's giving me a hint!"' she realized. 'Wait, he said magic and swords…"' she looked at her fusion deck. 'The Dark Magician and the Flaming Swordsman are the only to creatures we could possibly fuse."' she realized. 'Did I add that Flaming Swordsman?"' she bit her lip and prayed she had.

Blocker-17600

Namia-4500

Piercer-6300

Shisei-2300

Shisei weakly drew. A smile crossed his face and he sat up to play his card. "I play Dark Magic Curtain, and pay half my LP." he coughed up a bit of blood, then looked up and went on. "To b-brin-g the D-Dark Mag-magician, to my fi-field!" he said, looking through his deck, he removed a card and put it in the monster slot. "I also play Swords of Revealing Light, on P-Piercer." he finished, collapsing back onto the shadows he was lying on before, as three blades of white energy crashed down in front of Piercer.

Blocker-17600

Namia-4500

Piercer-6300

Shisei-1150

Blocker smirked and drew, his monster popping out a Defense Token (0/1000) in defense mode. "Now I'll gain a defense token, and increase our Mech's (2500/0) (0/3400) attack and defense points!" he smirked and then set three cards to end his turn.

Namia drew and took a steadying breath when she didn't see anything to allow her the Flame Swordsman being brought into play. "End turn." she stated.

Piercer drew, and sighed. "I'll set two more cards and end my turn." he stated. The glow of the swords faded a bit.

Shisei drew. "I'll place another card and end my turn." another facedown magic or trap appeared.

Blocker drew, thus receiving another token, and ended his own turn. Drill Mech (3000/0) and Defense Mech (0/3600) growing ever stronger.

Namia bit her lip and drew. 'Alright, Blue Flame Swordsman (1800/1600)"' she summoned her Swordsman. "I'll summon my Blue Flame Swordsman, and att-" she was cut off as Blocker activated a facedwon card.

"Sorry, my Trap Hole will ensure your Swordsman (1800/1600) is destroyed! Nice reason to lose 500 LP, eh!" he laughed as Namia discarded her card and brought forth the original Flame Swordsman (1800/1600) in the same position. "Ah, yes, you now have your normal fire monster, ah well, you'll still lose it when Piercer can attack!" he smirked and pressed another card. "Which will be next turn, as I activate Dust Tornado, and destroy the Swords of Reavealing Light!" he laughed as a feathery storm swept over Shisei's field, taking with it his magic card.

Blocker-17100

Namia-4500

Piercer-6300

Shisei-1150

Namia bit her lip and ended her turn. 'Hope Sei has a plan!" she thought.

Shisei was hard faced and ready, though he still looked a little too pale.

"You heard the man, now say goodbye, I attack your LP directly boy!" he laughed as Shisei activated a card.

"You ran into my trap card: Dark Magic Blitz!" he informed Piercer quietly.

"What !" Piercer asked.

"It allows me to sacrifice one spell caster, to bring another one forward from my deck, graveyard, or hand!" he told his opponent.

"it's a direct attack you fool, I don't know manymonsters that can win against a 3000 attack monster normally, much less a Spellcaster!" he said, laughter in his voice.

Shisei only fanned out his deck and pressed a monster onto the disk. "Now I'll bring my Dark Sage (2800/3200) forward in defense mode, then I'll activate Shift, to switch the attack of your monster to him!" finished Shisei, as Drill mech (3000/0) came out in the wrong place, and hit a spell muttering sage. "Nice try!" Shisei seemed to have some of his strength back, as he stood up and Piercer, aggravated, ended his turn.

Blocker-17100

Namia-4500

Piercer-6100

Shisei-1150

Shisei drew, looking at the card, he took a deep breath and played it. "I first play Heavy storm and destroy all of our set cards." he started. They all discarded their cards, Blocker and Shisei not really caring. "Next I'll activate Star Draw, which lets me tribute one monster on my field, and draw cards for each level star of the monster!" he grabbed nine cards, praying they were what he needed, as his Dark Sage was turned into nine brown backed cards. He peeked an eye open and smirked from behind his ten hand cards. "You lose." he stated, playing one card. "I'll activate Monster Reborn, and revive the Dark Magician." His favarote card appeared. "Then I'll fuse it with Namia's Swordsman to make… Dark Flare Knight (2200/800)!" a shining knight in black armor appeared in a striking position. "Then I'll attack your monster!" he smirked as his Dark Flare charged at the Drill mech.

"Idiot, my Drill Mech has too many attack points!" Piercer smirked as the beast was destroyed. But in the Knight's place, like a Phoenix Risisng from the ashes, a golden armored Knight appeared. "What is that thing!" asked Piercer worriedly.

"This is my Mirage Knight (2800/2000), it comes into play whenever I lose my Dark Flare Knight, and it's going to allow me to win this duel!" Shisei smirked. "I now activate, DNA Surgery, and make all monsters Spellcasters!" he exclaimed, all of the monsters on the field were now wearing witch hats.

"Our monsters will keep their points, as they negate the effect of DNA Surgery!" Piercer smirked a bit of his own, thinking the reason for this move was something different…

"I'll then activate Limiter Removal times three!" he slid the cards into the disk and the attack of their monsters was increased (24000/0) (0/3600). "Next, Stop Defense on your Defense Mech (0/3600)!" Blocker shrugged and switched his monster to attack mode. "Now, it ends." he slid his final card into the disk.

"You can only get rid of our monsters, boy!" Blocker told him, wagging a finger.

"You wish, I'll activate: Diffusion Wave Motion!" he said. "Now I can attack you both by paying 1000 LP!" he finished. He coughed up a great deal more blood, but he had accomplished what he needed.

Blocker-17100

Namia-4500

Piercer-6100

Shisei-150

"Finally, I'll attack you both!" he ended.

"Fool, your monster has to little attack points to defeat Drill Mech, you l- WHAT!" he looked at the Mirage Knight (26800/2000). "HOW!" he asked alarmed.

"Easy, may increase the attack of my Knight by however many attack points your monster has, at the cost of it being destroyed at my end phase!" Sei informed his shocked opponent. "I may only be able to defeat one-" he was cut off as Namia slid a Quickplay Magic card into her disk.

"Your going to take them both out, because I activate Enemy Controller, to Remove Piercer's Last Defense!" she smirked as Blocker and Piercer desperately looked at their hand for a way out. "Do it Sei!" Namia nodded to him as Shisei looked like Christmas had come early.

"Looks like you lose, Mirage Knight (26800/2000) attack!" he smirked as his opponents' LP dropped to zero.

Blocker-0

Namia-3500

Piercer-0

Shisei-150

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Both of their opponent's screamed. Desperately looking for a way out as they began to turn to shadow.

Namia looked in utter horror as they lost their bodies completely to shadow and she and Shisei were being lifted into a brilliant light.

"Whoa." Namia said lamely.

"I'll get back to you on that." Shisei said, then, without another word, he fell to the grass, still drenched in his own blood.

Next Time: In the dark forests of Dragoon Island, Chiro and Kamishiro meet and began the duel. The mystery of Thalius and the seals seems to be close to revealation. Can Chiro possible come out on top in a duel that will test his emotions, and his duel skill? Find out next time, on Duel Monsters Maximum!

To John: As you can see, Perfect Machine King was needed for the fusion, that's the only reason he had that in there. (and I couldn't find enough high defense machine monsters :

A/N: I will desperately try to update, but the next few chapters will be long, so it will take me a while to post them up. Don't forget to review. Oh, and if you have some extra time, I highly recommend anyone who isn't reading Rex the emerald dragon's story: Team Zero Duelists, to read that, as its really good. Au revoir!


	24. Memories Released

Disclaimer: Take a guess whether I own Yugioh. If you guess right, I'll give you a cookie! 

Chapter 24: Memories Unleashed

Chiro was leaping through the forests of the Dragoon Island with incredible speeds. 'Damnit, why couldn't he be closer!"' he thought to himself as he finally emerged in the area where Kamishiro was waiting.

Kamishiro was standing just as still as he was when he had stumbled across the duel site. "You have come." he stated. His voice was as deep as ever, not revealing anything that could possibly jeopardize his and Osmos's plans for the silver haired man across from him.

"Yeah, now why don't you take of that stupid cloak!" Chiro said forcefully. Then he smirked. "White really doesn't look good on you, Thalius!" his fangs beared, he grabbed his sword.

Kamishiro didn't laugh, nod, or do anything to show he had heard or cared. "I am not Thalius." he stated. Chiro looked taken aback.

'Ooh, burned, burned, BURNED!"' Kou commented from his soul as Chiro rolled his eyes at his immaturity. 'Well if this guy isn't Thalius, then who is he!"' Kou then asked Chro.

"He's Thalius." Chiro said, sounding so sure of himself that Kou almost believed him.

"I am not." Kamishiro responded, still with the same emotionless tone. "However, I do have the same wish as Thalius, to remove the burden of the Seven Seals from you." he finished.

"Yeah, I thought so. Your just another lackey then?" Chiro released his grip on the Blue Sorrow.

"I accompany Higentaka in his endeavors." Kamishiro replied.

Chiro frowned. "Are you sure it's wise to help someone like him? And what does he want with me anyway?" Chiro asked.

"Simple, the power of the seal you now hold is much to great for you. You will either surrender your Divine Seal, or I will claim it in a duel, your choice." Kamishiro raised his duel disk. Chiro adjusted his own to fit his body.

'Oh, I want duel him, pick me, pick me!"' Kou demanded from within his own mind.

'Idiot, my deck is much more powerful than yours, and this man works for Osmos, do you really want another shadow game?"' asked Chiro. Kou paled and shook his head mentally. "Good, then lets get this duel underway!" Chiro said this aloud to Kamishiro. "But I have to say, this whole Divine Seal thing is out of wack, I have none of the seven seals." Chiro smirked as he remembered the one time he had foiled Thalius.

"Oh yes you do. You might have spread them through all of time and space, but the Divine Seal has a way of meeting up with you." Kamishiro said.

"Alright, if you say so." Chiro watched his and his opponent's LP counters jump up to full.

Chiro-8000

Kamishiro-8000

Chiro drew his opening hand, ready to win. "Okay, I'll just have to defeat you and give you nothing when I win!" Chiro snickered and slid one card into his magic/trap slot. "I'll set this card facedown and summon, Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode!" a giant beast appeared in front of a brown backed card. "End turn." Chiro stated.

Kamishiro drew his next card. "Your demise will be for naught, if you don't know where the Divine Seal is, don't you agree?" he said.

Chiro raised an eyebrow and looked at his surroundings. "What do you mean, my demise. This isn't a Shadow Game. Were not betting souls." he stated in confusion.

"Ah, yes, but remember, due to the way you abandoned your power as the Seal Holder, if you aren't bound by a seal, in this case, the Divine Seal, then you will be unable to survive for long." Kamishiro responded, still in an emotionless drawl.

"I'm not bound to a seal now, am I!" he asked.

"…………Remember, Chiro, remember the spell you used." Kamishiro stated simply. "To defeat Thalius, what spell did you use?" he finished.

Chiro blinked at him. "Where do you get off telling me to remember stuff?" he asked.

"Fine, I shall bring my Dunames the Dark Witch (1800/1050) to the field in attack mode, then I'll activate Guardians Gift." he brought to the field an angelic woman with white wings and all, and one continuous magic card. "Guardians Gift allows me to draw two cards now and for every one of my draw phases as long as I discard my entire hand now." he did so and took two cards from his deck's top. "I'll now set both of these and end my turn." Kamishiro finshed, inserting his last two cards into his disk.

"Yeah, that's what I thought!" Chiro responded. He slid a card from the top of his disk and added it to his hand, giving him five. "I'll now summon Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000) he allows all beast and beast-warrior monsters to deal damage through defense, but for now, Vorse Raider, blow away his witch!" Chiro commanded his first beast. The angry looking axe wielder charged, but was met by a mirror image of itself.

"You ran into my Mirror wall trap, which splits you monster's attack points by half." Kamishiro said simply. "Are you done?" he asked.

Chiro bit his lip. "Go!" he commanded.

Kamishiro drew twice, as his magic card stated. "Your power is all you had." he said, after making the cards his new hand.

"What are you babbling about?" Chiro rolled his eyes as Kamishiro shook his head.

"No, think about it Chiro, you were the strongest of the villages you traveled to, then, Thalius came and was stronger, much stronger." Kamishiro stated. Chiro growled.

"He was a freaking Omega, and Ender!" Chiro yelled. Then quieter. "I beat him in the end, didn't I?" he sounded unsure, like he really wasn't positive Thalius was gone.

"That's right, you killed yourself, but you were the first to match might with an Ender." Kamishiro slid another card into his disk, now he had emotion in his voice, amusement. "I'll get rid of my Mirror Wall and summon Maha Vailo (1550/1400) in attack mode!" Kamishiro then flipped another of his facedown cards. "Then I'll activate Horn of the Unicorn, giving him 700 additional attack and defense points. Plus 500 for his effect." Kamishiro now had a mightier monster than Chiro's Vorse Raider at full power. "Attack his Vorse Raider (950/1200)." commanded Kamishiro lazily. The Maha Vailo (2750/2100) created a lightning bolt in it's hands and blasted at his beast.

Chiro-6200

Kamishiro-8000

'Damn, he has a stronger monster than most in two turns out on the field!"' Chiro thought to himself.

'He's got style though."' Kou added. Chiro glared at him as Kamishiro got ready to finish his move, and Chiro's last defense.

Namia blinked, looking down at Shisei, who had made the best of a full recovery since the Shadow Realm incident. He had stopped bleeding, and looked less pale anyway. Though he still hadn't awoken. "Sei, please be okay!" she said aloud. Just when she thought she might want to leave him and come back due to her hunger, she saw his eyes flutter open. "SHISEI! YOUR UP, YOUR REALLY REALLY UP!" she jumped up and down in excitement.

"Yeah, and your hyper, really really hyper!" Sei smirked a bit, but this seemed to drain him to much. He finally just collapsed back onto Namia's makeshift pillow, made out of part of her all black attire and Sei's windbreaker.

"How do you feel?" she asked anxiously. She wished there were hospitals here. "Are you okay, I think all your vital organs are intact." she said, checking him over one more time.

"Thanks Namia." he said, meaning it. "What about Kou?" he realized that his best friend was still missing, and began to look around for him.

"He was…gone when we got out of that black sphere…" she stated sadly. Shisei would have made a hypothesis on what had happened, but he figured he shouldn't strain himself after losing so much blood.

"Well, I guess I'll go back to bed." he smiled weakly and fell back into his deep slumber.

Namia sighed. 'Kou, you better not make us look for you!" she thought, then she leaned against a tree to watch the clouds pass.

"I'll attack your Battle Ox (1700/1000) with my Dunames." Kamishiro recited. Dunames blew a lethal kiss at the mystified Battle Ox, but suddenly, a loud noise filled the area as Chiro pressed his trap activation button.

"You seemed to have forgotten about my set card!" he smirked as the trap with a picture of an odd whistle blowing. "Dog Whistle, which will split Dunames (900/1050) attack points for this turn, then on your next turn, she'll have double the attack points." Chiro informed his opponent.

"Brilliant move, but you wouldn't have been so lucky against Thalius." stated Kamishiro. Chiro growled at him. "I'll end my turn there." he finished.

"Good, now I can clear your field, I'll summon Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000) in attack mode!" a new beast, this one having the look of a.. well, berserk gorilla, appeared. "Now I'll attack your Dunames (900/1050) with my beast. Flame Breath Burp!" commanded chiro as his Gorilla (2000/1000) burped a huge molten fireball, which destroyed Dunames easily.

Chiro-6200

Kamishiro-6900

"Ah, you seem to have some fight in you yet." Kamishiro smiled a smile which Chiro could see.

"Yeah, and that's not all, I'll set one card facedown and end my turn!" Chiro ended and Kamishiro drew twice.

"Now the turn is mine, and I shall show you light!" Kamishiro slid one card into his disk. "I'll activate Swords of Revealing Light, and block your assaults for three full turns." he spoke emotionlessly once more. "Now I'll attack your Ox (1700/1000) with my Maha Vailo (2750/2100)." Kamishiro's monster threw a ball of lightning at the minotaur that protected Chiro.

Chiro's lips curled into a smirk. "I'll activate Michizure!" he stated, as his Ox was blown to bits, Maha Vailo was suddenly struck by its own lightning from behind. "This trap allows me to destroy one of your monsters so long as you have destroyed one of mine in the same turn!" he said.

Kamishiro shrugged. "I end my turn." he stated.

Chiro-5150

Kamishiro-6900

"Now its my turn, I'll start by drawing." Chiro smirked and drew his card. 'Perfect, I'll play this and bring him down another notch!"' he thought. "Ready, cause its coming! I'll first play the Cheerful Coffin, to discard up to three monster cards!" he exclaimed, removing two cards from his hand and sliding them into his disk. "Next comes my Monster Reborn, to revive the Mystic Knight of Jackal (2700/1200), in attack mode!" a new knight with a beastly prescense and a deadly looking blade emerged from the Duel Disk's holo projector. "Now I'll end my turn, since I can't attack." just as Kamishiro drew, Chiro discarded a card and a winged creature with odd parts from other beast's, emerged. "My Manticore of Darkness (2300/1000) may return whenever it is sent to the graveyard by discarding another beast." he finished.

"Ah, still having no regard for life, I see." Kamishiro stated. Chiro glared at him.

"How do you know so much about me anyway!" Chiro asked him.

"I was there." Kamishiro stated simply. "I was there when you released the Seals and had them inhabit the bodies of others." he added his two drawn cards to his hand. "And I'll show you what you did, I'll make you remember, Chiro, because I've just drawn the card to change your attitude about this duel!" he declared, a righteous anger was now in his voice, you could hear the sky rumble and shake.

"What card can make me remember? And besides, I already know what happened." Chiro rolled his eyes as Kamishiro slid a card into the disk.

"Now I'll play, Memories Released!" he laughed manically as Chiro blinked in confusion. "Now Chiro, remember the pain that you caused others, remember your needless sacrifices. REMEMBER!" Chiro was about to make a smart comment, but he suddenly found himself on the ground, head pounding ferouciously.

"AHHHHHHH!" he yelled, feeling as though his head might burst from the pounding in it. "WHAT DID YOU DO!" he exclaimed. He could hear Kou faintly asking if he was okay. There was something wrong, he could feel his body seperating from Kou's. 'What's going on?" he thought to Kou, no response. "KOU?" he yelled. Then, all was black.

Next time: Chiro remembers his past mistakes and how he caused the deaths of so many. But he also realizes where the Divine Seal is. Now that he knows Kamishiro's plan, can he find the strength to break free from his horrid memories and win a duel against Kamishiro? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum.

To Rex: Your right, but the names I come up with always seem to suck...


	25. Things Forgotten

Disclaimer: Once more, I don't own Yugioh! 

Chapter 25: Things Forgotten

Chiro opened his golden eyes. His ears hearing the familiar sound of cheering and clapping. 'What's going on!"' he thought to himself. He took a moment to remember that he was in a duel with Kamishiro when his opponent had played a card deemed "Memories Released".

Now he was stuck in a kind of ornate gym. The area had several stands that people watched from. There was an arena area with marked off out of bounds areas. Like a basketball game's markings. Then there was the two men in the arena itself, battling harshly with blades of great sizes. One of them was tall and trollish looking with a sword the size of Chiro's hold body, and flaming red hair that was falling off. He also wore a kind of ancient Loincloth But the other competitor held a slightly larger than normal sized blade, silver hair, and was wearing a very old style martial arts suit. He was much smaller than his opponent, but smirked as he batted the attacks aside.

'Hmph, I could beat that guy in swordfight any day of the weak!"' Chiro thought, watching the match. He decided to show he could. "JURANAMO!" he lunged at the trollish one, who now wore a look of complete shock. Just as he pulled back his fist to throw a punch (he didn't want to surprise attack him with a blade, that might make him seem weak) the troll's opponent was slashing at speeds Chiro alone could follow. Chiro stopped his assault, but suddenly realized his leap had carried him to far. He was going to crash straight into the troll's opponent. "MOVE!" he shrieked when the man stayed in his stance, his blade held out parrallel to his face. CRASH! Chiro fell straight through the boy and hit the ground on his but.

"Nice try, but you shouldn't put so much importance in strength, it's the will to win, that matters." a young, but experienced voice told the troll man, who glowered at his opponent.

"CHIRO, CHIRO, CHIRO!" the crowd roared. Chiro suddenly realized what the effect of Memories Released must have been. 'No way, he trapped me in my memories!"' he suddenly thought, dread the only feeling in his body.

Shisei peeked open an eye and saw Namia sleeping across from him, near some shrubbery. 'Well, can't stay asleep forever."' he thought. He rose, slowly, but surely, and looked at his watch. 3:45. 'Well, we have another day about before admission to the castle is prohibited.'" he thought. Then another thought struck him. 'Those guys that challenged us, they were probably trying to pave the way for one team. Like Eliminator."' he thought, gulping. "Namia, wake up!" he rushed over and shook Namia awake.

Several confused minutes later, Namia had risen and was ready to go. "I don't think they'd go to such extremes to eliminate everyone but three people Sei." she said skeptically, after Shisei told her his theory.

"Think about, the last three will have a special session with Yugi, Joey, and Kaiba…. So why wouldn't there be anything on where the finals are held. There are only supposed to be three surviving duelists!" he exclaimed.

Namia swallowed hard. "Let's get going, before more come!" she and Shisei then rushed away, unknowingly being followed.

Chiro looked at himself leaving the arena. 'Guess I should follow, if this is anything like Thalius's spells, then they wear out after a while."' he thought. Following himself out and down to the winding forests of his old village. 'Why did I ever leave this place again?"' he thought, looking at the beautiful Azaleas, Daises, and some other flowers he didn't know.

"You there, boy, Chiro, was it!" suddenly another male voice emanated from the room. The voice, one that Chiro wouldn't likely forget, belonged to a tall and thing man with long brown hair and a black, velvety cloak on.

Chiro twisted around to see him, to make sure. He hoped he was wrong, he hoped it was just another useless fan that wanted to see his past self fight again. No such luck. Chiro turned and saw, walking toward them, none other than Thalius, the Omega. "RUN, DON'T TALK, RUN!" he roared at his past self, to no avail.

"Yeah, that's me, who're you?" the past Chiro asked in his young voice.

"My name is of no importance. My cause, however, is a different matter," Thalius began. He moved toward Chiro with a sick smile on his face. "I wish for you, with your great talent in swordsmanship," he clasped his hands together and then pulled them apart swiftly, a long, thin blade appeared, which he grasped and held out to the shocked younger Chiro. "to help me acquire an item of great value." Thalius smiled and let Chiro hold the blade he had created.

"How did you do this!" he asked, in utter delight as though a child at a magic show.

Thalius waved the question away. "We'll have plenty of time to discuss me if you would join my cause, oh Great Chiro." he smiled and bowed at this last part. Chiro looked down, how sick he was, yet he had done what Thalius said, he had betrayed his entire village.

Chiro studied the sword. Then looked up and smiled at Thalius. "You've got a deal!" he said, just as the world began to blur and warp again. The normal Chiro was all that was left now, the only one, soon the entire village and all its inhabitants were replaced by a large crystal with seven glowing symbols. Each one Egyptian and meaning something different.

'No, the seals!"' the true Chiro shivered and looked around for himself. 'If I'm still in my memories, then this is where…"' he didn't finish thinking, as he saw his younger self walking towards the glowing crystal. Behind him stood two large men, wearing clothing of new times than Chiro.

"This is it boys, if this works, then Thalius will never forget us!" young Chiro said, this time in a gruffer voice. He walked forward a bit, ready for his task to be done. "If these things don't agree with me… Kill me!" he commanded from the "grunts" that followed him. They looked shocked, but nodded anyways. The young Chiro stepped forward and touched the Crystal. A brilliant glowing white light shot out of the crystal and hit the young Chiro in the stomach. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the young Chiro screamed as though he was being murdered in a very gruesome way. But then again, he had good reason as he was being completely connected to the Seven Seals. Fire, Earth, Water, Wind, Light, Darkness, and finally, Divine, all made their mark.

"Ch-Chiro, are you alright man!" asked on of the grunts from behind a fallen Chiro. Each seal was glowing somewhere on his body. One on his head, one on each hand, one on each knee, one on his neck, and the divine seal made its home on his heart. Soon the glow from the Egyptian Symbols faded. And so did the world around them.

'Damn it, when will this stop!"' Chiro thought, as he suddenly appeared in a castle, where Thalius was munching on an apple and talking to his younger self, who seemed very angry.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY DID!" young Chiro spat, though he sounded almost exactly the same as his older version. "They needed that food to feed themselves, if you didn't try and control everything, then maybe the Militia would have saved the food imports in the first place!" he roared. Thalius continued to eat his apple as though nothing was happening. "Your just going to destroy an entire village then, just because they stole some freaking cabbages from you!" he glared at Thalius.

"No, I'm not." he finished. Chiro looked taken aback by such a change in opinion. "I'm going to massacre an entire village because they are pathetic, worthless worms that deserve to die." Thalius finished his apple and it disappeared.

"Fine, then you can find another Seal holder!" Chiro spat, and with that, the world changed for the final, most dreadful time.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" both Chiros screamed, seeing their beloved village being burned to a crisp. "THALIUSSSS!" they finished.

Thalius stood, smiling maliciously at Chiro. He licked the blood on his magically created sword. "What now, you can't win, I have the power to bring an end to this earth, this charade, I am, after all, an Omega!" he smiled as Chiro beat the ground with his fists.

"I can't let you win. I'LL KILL YOU!" he rushed at Thalius, who litterally blew him away. It looked as though he was trying to blow a bubble, but instead, Chiro was sent sailing backwards into his own little wooden house. But this didn't do to discourage him, Chiro rushed once more, this time using the power of the wind seal, which began to glow green on his left knee, to counteract Thalius's wind. Thalius cursed an jumped out of the way just as the blade hit where he was.

"You are anxious, aren't you?" Thalius asked. He began to glow, preparing to use some of his best magic. Chiro kept his eyes closed, desperately wanting to forget all that he had done. 'WHY DID I DO THIS!"' he asked over and over again. Suddenly the world began to flip and shudder once more. Just as with his first time trip, he felt nauseous, but he heard Kou, calling to him.

"Chiro, CHIRO!" it seemed like it was hopeless to Kou, until he heard his counterpart answer.

"Leave me be." Chiro said. Kou smiled in relief, just happy to hear his counterpart answer.

"Come on, what happened?" Kou asked in an amused voice.

"Leave me to die here." Chiro responded. He was speaking out loud, now fallen to the ground. Kamishiro stood over him triumphantly.

"Chiro, CHIRO! HE'S GOING TO KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T DUEL!" Kou shouted. Kamishiro continued to walk forward.

"Have you seen, its all your fault, you shall die for your sins. It ends now." Kamishiro unsheathed a blade, and brought it down on Chiro.

_To be Continued_

Next time: Chiro and Kou have always worked as a team, in life, death, and duel. But Chiro can't get ahold of himself enough to duel properly, will Kou be able to stand the 10 turn countdown and win against Kamishiro, alone? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

A/N: Sorry, rushing this chapter to get it done before my bus comes, just for ya'll. Peace out!


	26. Defeat in 10 Turns

Disclaimer: Take a guess whether I own Yugioh. If you guess right, I'll give you a cookie! 

Chapter 26: Defeat in 10 turns

A/N: Okay, I just wanted to sum up what happened last chapter, in case some people were confused. Chiro's first flashback was of his nice peaceful village. It didn't seem to be that special, but later, in another saga of this story, you'll get to see his village truly and why its so important to him. The second flashback was where the seals became one with his body. The third was very important. It basically was the reason that made Chiro finally realize Thalius was an evil bastard. The third would have been much longer, but I had to rush, though I really did want to show Thalius and Chiro battle, you'll have to wait another few Sagas! Well, now that that's cleared up, enjoy the chapter!

The blade met the hands of a certain blue haired youth. "Nice way to surprise someone!" Kou smirked as his body changed back to itself. He twisted the blade until it broke, the tossed the half he held to the side. "How about we continue?" he then asked.

Kamishiro growled and leaped back to his spot, some twenty feet away, in the duel arena. "Fine boy, we'll continue until Chiro finds his worthless pride." Kamishiro spat, taking his deck and siphoning through the cards in it. "Ah, yes, I'll take these two magic cards, now take yours." he motioned to Kou, who blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean, take mine?" he asked, eyeing the two cards that his opponent had removed from his deck.

"Ah, yes, Memories Released isn't just a pretty face, it also has an actual duel effect." Kamishiro stated. "We each take two magic cards and use them immediately, you must go first." he stated. Kou smirked, now knowing exactly what he wanted to do with his cards, he removed two and slid them into his disk.

"I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon on your Swords of Revealing Light," a torrential wind blew his swords out of the way and then disappeared itself. "Next I play my Card of Sanctity, allowing each of us to replenish our hands!" he snapped six cards off of his deck and Kamishiro calmly did the same.

"Now its time for my move!" he slid the cards he had chosen into his disk. "I'll activate Time Zone Shift, and my Final Countdown!" he said, his LP score dropping.

Kamishiro-4900

Kou-5150

Kou raised an eyebrow at this move. But suddenly, the world within the duel field seemed to speed up. Grass grew at incredible rates, the clouds were flying past them. Bugs and other things moved at high speeds, it seemed only the duelist's weren't affected by the time change. Then, all around the outside of the arena, 20 torches erupted out of the ground, each with it's own red ember. "What just happened?" Kou asked, completely clueless toeither of these cards effects.

Kamishiro looked around the field, and then sighed with happiness. "Isn't it beautiful, the effect of Time Zone Shift allows me to make every turn count as two." he began.

Kou rolled his eyes at such a useless effect. "So what? How will that help you win?" he asked his white cloaked opponent.

Kamishiro motioned around to the ember pots and the flames inside of them. "These fire pots aren't for show. Whenever a turn passes, one of them will go out." he informed Kou, who was still confused.

"What happens win they all go out?" Kou asked suspiciously.

"Simple, I win!" Kamishiro stated. He was obviously happy about this fact. Kou gasped.

"And with that, I'll set two cards facedown, go!" the cards appeared as two of the flames encircling them burnt themselves out.

Kou gulped and drew his next card.

Darkness. Chiro felt himself in the darkness of his own heart. 'I shouldn't have done it!"' he kept saying to himself. 'I shouldn't have listened to Thalius, I shouldn't have betrayed him. I shouldn't have let him live for so long!"' he felt a tear slide down his cheek. 'Damn, I let them die with my stupid decisions, all of them. My friends."' the burning of the village was still clear in his mind.

Chiro's village was very important, as would be any hometown to anyone. The people there had never abandoned him, even after all that had happened. But then, after seeing a simple magic trick, he was ready to go along with someone like Thalius, who wanted to take the world for himself. After emerging from a plan that was meant to kill him, somehow showing an immunity to the murderous power of the Seven Seals, Chiro had done what Thalius most feared. He had become a worthy opponent. So to get rid of this opponent, he would let his sorrow over the loss of so many he cared for be felt. 'That was why the village burned down. He wanted me to feel to sorry for their loss to put up a decent fight."' he thought.

He then found a small glimmer of pleasure in the fact that Thalius had been unsuccessful, and he was able to fight with him equally. 'And I killed him, with the power of the divine Seal."' he smiled a bit. But then the overwhelming sadness filled him. He looked away from the depths of his own soul. 'I'm sorry Kou, I said I'd help you and Shisei, I said I'd be there for you… I'm sorry."' he thought.

A shimmering blue blade appeared in his hands. He held it to his neck, ready to take his own miserable life. 'To die like this…. I didn't see it coming, I can definitely say that!"' he gulped, feeling the cold steel of the blade vibrate against his pale neck. 'Bye, Kou, Shisei, Namia. The world needs the seals, nor the seal holder, no more."' he cut his neck and blood spilled from the cut freely. It took only seven seconds, for him to lose consciousness for the final time.

Kou looked at his next card with renewed hope. "Alright, I'm about to wipe that smirk off your face with Black Luster Ritual!" he removed a card from his hand and slid Manticore of Darkness (2300/1000) into the graveyard. "When I tribute my Manticore and my Big Shield Guardna, I can bring my Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500) to the field in attack mode!" a new, golden armored warrior appeared and slashed it's blade through the air angrily. "Then I'llsacrifice my new monster for the Ghost Knight of Jackal (1700/1600) in attack mode!" Black Luster Soldier disappeared, an in it's place a new armored Jackal appeared, ready to strike with a deadly looking blade. "Then I'll activate Replay!" his LP split.

Kamishiro-4900

Kou-2575

"I'll use this card to activate Monster Reborn from my graveyard." his golden armored monster, Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500) reappeared and readied for its assault. "Finally, I'll end this duel, attack my beasts!" the three warriors charged, but just as they came close to touching Kou's opponent, four miniature goats appeared on his field, each of a different color. They didn't hesitate to attack these though.

"Hahahaaaa, you ran into my Scapegoat Tokens!" Kamishiro smirked as Kou growled. "Care to end your turn, brat!" he asked.

"I shall, and I'll discard Harpie's Brother, a winged beast, to revive Manticore of Darkness (2300/1000)." he finished.

Kamishiro drew, as two more of the torches went out. "You have eight turns to bring me down boy!" he smirked and slid another card into his disk. "I'll activate my facedown card, White Dragon Ritual!" he slid a card in his hand into the graveyard. "Now I'll discard my Shining Angel to bring forth my Paladin of White Dragon (1900/1200) in attack mode!" he smirked as his new monster glowered at Kou.

"Fat lot of help that will do you, unless you have a Blue-Eyes!" Kou smirked, knowing this was impossible. Seto Kaiba was the owner of all playable Blue-eyes White Dragons, after all.

"Just because Seto Kaiba sees it fit to sacrifice his Paladin for something as meaningless as summoning the Blue-eyes White Dragon, doesn't mean I must have the same disrespect for my monsters!" Kamishiro replied angrily.

"Yeah, yeah, just finish your move!" Kou had to admit, he was anxious to find Namia and Shsei, who he hoped had won their duel, or at least were still dueling.

"Fine boy, I'll activate Book of moon, and switch your Mystic Knight (2700/1200) to facedown defense position." a glowing book slammed down on Kou's monster and it disappeared. "I now attack your facedown Mystic Knight!" he pointed to the defense monster, which the Paladin, a white armored sword wielder, slashed in half. "Because of my Paladin's effect, I can destroy your monster without overflow damage!" Kou's monster was blown to digital dust and Kamishiro took his Paladin off of his disk and slid another card on. "Now, to end my turn, I'll summon Zaborg the Thunder Monarch (2400/1000) in attack mode. And, in case you didn't know, I get to destroy one monster on your side of the field when he is summoned." he smirked as a lightning bolt blasted Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500) to pieces. "I'll set this and end my turn." Kamishiro stated, making two more flames go out.

Kou gulped. 'This guy is insane, he just keeps coming out of the wood work with unstoppable comboes!"' He drew his next card with more than a little anxiety. "Hey, why did you come after us anyway!" Kou asked suddenly. Kamishiro raised an eyebrow and then shrugged.

"Osmos thought it would be a good idea to get Chiro separated from you, as you can't possibly know how irresponsible he is." stated Kamishiro nonchalantly. "He has no right to use the Divine Seal." he finished.

"Where is this seal anyway?" Kou was just plain curious now.

"No one has been able to find it, so far Osmos speculates it is in the city of Tokyo." he said. Kou nodded, thinking of where you'd be able to find a glowing Egyptian symbol. "Now if you will please discontinue your stalling." he finished. Kou bit his lip so much it bled, but slid a card into his disk anyway.

"I play Pot of Greed!" he took two more cards off his deck, glanced at them and sighed. "I'll switch Ghost Knight (1700/1600) and Manticore (2300/1000) to defense mode. End turn." he watched sadly as two more of the flames went out, leaving twelve embers. This meant Kou hadsix turns. Three of which were his own."I won't lose!" he declared as Kamishiro drew.

"You don't really have a choice, I'll remove my Maha Vailo and my Dunames the Dark Witch from play, and bring forth, Soul of Purity and Light (2000/1800) in attack mode!" A beautiful woman in a glowing white dress appeared over a young and stern looking man. "This monster decreases the attack of all your monsters by 300 during your battle phase, so don't try anything!" Kamishiro smirked as Kou gulped. "Now I'll attack your Ghost Knight of Jackal (1700/1600) with my Soul of Purity and Light (2000/1800)!" the two created a glowing orb of energy between them, and shot the Jackal apart with it. "I'll also attack with my Thunder Monarch (2400/1000)!" his next beast created a growling ball of thunder in its hand, and shot the Manticore's head off.

Kou looked at the defense that Chiro had built for him in sadness. 'I failed. I can't stop this guy!"' he realized, looking at his hand, he sighed and watched two more flames go out. 'Chiro, I'm sorry."' he did, however, place a hand on his deck, and drew. But the draw he performed, was one without hope, without anything, but despair.

The young brown haired boy smiled as he slid from one tree to another, easily following the blond boy and girl below him. 'Hah, and these guys were supposed to be smart!"' Ryuko thought, sliding silently from a higher branch, to a lower one.

After Blocker and Piercer had failed to defeat Shisei and Namia, Osmos had sent Ryuko (extremely reluctantly) to duel and, hopefully, eliminate Shisei and Namia. Now Ryuko was going to follow them until he felt the time was right for his entrance. 'Got to be smooth!"' he kept telling himself, smirks crossing his boyish face. 'One…Two…NOW!"' he leapt from the tree, fully intending to surprise his opponents… Unfortunately, he didn't fit an extremely strong gust of air into his jumping equation. Being that he was still so young, he weighed to little to resist the wind.

"AH!" he screamed as the gust carried him over the forests and trees. Then he realized how amazing it was to fly and spread his arms and legs. "I'M FLYING, I'M FLYING! WOHO!" he yelled to the world. BAM! Suddenly he found himself directly against a tree, after a bone shattering impact, he had fallen into the forest once more. CRASH! With no more warning, several tree branches and pinecones collapsed on the poor boy, who just twitched.

Shisei stopped walking and looked around. "Did you hear something?" he asked Namia.

Namia looked around and shook her head. "Nothing, lets keep moving!" she said. They then walked off, neither of them hearing Ryuko, who was only a few feet away and buried under shrubbery, moan in pain.

Next time: Kou desperately tries to turn things around in his duel against Kamishiro, but all of his best moves are countered. A small glimmer of hope may be all that Kou needs, but the question is, will he manage to get it? Find out next time on Duel Monsters Maximum: Dragoon Island Tournament!

To John: Chiro blames himself because he trusted Thalius when he should have figured Thalius was evil.

To Rex: Thank you once more, but I'll be fine. After all, even if my card names do suck, you guys, the readers, will have to deal with it, not me! (Smiles evilly.)


	27. Loss

Disclaimer: Take a guess whether I own Yugioh. If you guess right, I'll give you a cookie! 

Chapter 27: Loss

Kou's next thoughts, after he drew his card, was just to give up, admit defeat, not even look at the card he drew. 'No, Chiro was too weak to duel, I have to win in his place!"' he heard a tiny voice say to him. 'Stop acting so stupid and get up!"' he listened to the tiny voice in his head, and stood up to his full height. "This duel isn't over!" he declared.

"So you say, but you have no monsters on the field. Besides, any monster you could summon without tribute couldn't possible destroy my Thunder Monarch (2400/1000)!" Kamishiro was perhaps a little too overconfident, but Kou knew he couldn't give up.

"I have the perfect combo to take your strategy apart, and here it comes!" Kou said. He slid a card into his disk and its effect activated. "Say hello to Revival of Defenses!" Suddenly, a glowing orb of energy appeared. Soon it began to writhe and bubble, until a new monster formed.

"What in the world!" Kamishiro sounded genuinely surprised. The new monster had a large golden shield and was wearing a purple shirt that didn't hide his bulging muscles. He was kneeling in the defensive position.

"This card allows me to special summon as many monsters with a higher defense than that of their attack in defense mode. They can't switch modes and they are automatically destroyed without damage calculation if attacked." Kou explained. He removed his new monster, Big Shield Guardna (100/2600) from the disk and slid another card on. "Of course, I just wanted my Big Shield so I could sacrifice it for my Penumbral Soldier Lady (2100/1400) in attack mode!" A beautiful woman with a glittering white shield appeared. Though she was pretty, she had a dark glow about her and an equally dark look on her face.

"Your warriors are all to weak to stand up to the angels in my deck, foolish mortal boy!" Kamishiro recited, sounding exactly like a snobbish boy in one of Kou and Shisei's classes.

"My swordsmen may not be up to that task, but my swords _lady_ can easily accomplish it!" Kou smirked and raised his pointing finger. "Now, Penumbral Soldier Lady (2800/1400) attack Soul of Purity and Light (2000/1800)!" Kou finished, pointing at the newest monster summoned on his opponent's field. The female warrior leaped forward and raised her glowing blade. Just before she made contact with the male and female spirit on Kamishiro's field,a bluish-white barrier appeared. It strained for a bit, but then finally over came the force of her blade and blew her into dust.

"I activated my Mirror Force, in case you couldn't tell." Kamishiro said smugly. He expected Kou to fall to his knees in defeat, instead, he smiled.

"Thanks for the help." he slid another card into his disk. "Activate Vengence of the Warriors!" The field shifted once more, this time, rocks and trees began to fall and fly around them. "Now I get to pay the attack points of the warrior just sent to the graveyard in my LP to destroy all monsters on your field!"

Kamishiro gasped as all of his creatures were crushed under a stray boulder or tree. "My monsters!" he screamed in rage and shock.

Kamishiro-4900

Kou-475

"Now I'll set this card and end my turn." Kou stated, inserting his final card into the disk.

Kamishiro drew twice and glared at Kou from underneath his cloak. "I'll make you pay, you bastard!" he stated. "I'll do that by defeating you with the weakest monster in my deck!" he declared. Kou raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, then show me what you got." he smirked, fully confident in his facedown card.

"I'll do that, summon Mystical Shine Ball (500/500) in attack mode!" a glowing golden orb of energy appeared, bouncing up and down like a Kuriboh. Kou snickered but Kamishiro ignored this. "I'll then set two cards facedown, your trap won't work with these!" he said in full confidence.

Kou immediately went into action. "You can't foil my trap if I play it now, I'll activate Call of the Haunted, to revive my Penumbral Soldier Lady (2100/1400) in attack mode!" he declared. Kamishiro only shrugged and finished setting his cards.

"Fine, I end my turn, leaving you only four turns to win!" he snickered in amusement as Kou realized that another four torches had gone out.

'Crap!"' he drew his card.

Shisei and Namia had exited the forests of the large island and were now on their way up through the mountains. They wanted to find duels closer to the castle so they could either report to the special session if they acquired enough fingers first, or leave quickly if not. Seeing as how they won 2 fingers off of Blocker and Piercer, they had 2 with them, and Kou still had his, they had one hand worth of plastic fingers.

"I'm tired, we should stop here!" Namia stated. Surprisingly enough, Shisei seemed just fine with the long and miserable trek through the forests of the island. Namia moaned and plopped down on a rock to unstrap her hiking gear and take off her shoes.

Shisei smiled and leaned against a tree, taking off his windbreaker and wrapping it around his waist. "Just imagine though, me dueling Yugi Moto!" he felt as though he had fallen into a dream world when he pictured this.

"The only thing I want to imagine is winning that prize!" Namia said. Shisei nodded. But then realized something.

"What is the prize?" he asked he had been so excited about the session, that he had forgotten to find out the prize for winning.

Namia looked at him in surprise. "Whoa, you mean you don't know!" she asked alarmed at Shisei, the smartest person she had ever met, not knowing such a thing.

Shisei blushed and nervously cleaned his glasses. "Iforgottoreadwhatitwas." he said very quickly. This was, for some reason very embarrassing for him.

Namia smiled politely and took out her pamphlet. "The prize for the winners of the Dragoon Island Tournament," she began to read. "that is those three that complete their "Hand of Fate", that's the fingers," she commented to the side of her reading. "and those that win in their special session, as well as against Higentaka Osmos, shall receive the ranking of #1 in the team rankings and each of the three duelists will have a box (24 Boosters, 9 cards per pack) of supremely rare, one of a kind, Legendary Duelists booster series cards." she finished.

Shisei's eyes misted over as he pictured holding just one card from the legendary booster series. Each card was an original, one of a kind card created by a partner company to Industrial Illusions. Supposedly the series had a new variation of Blue Eyes White Dragon. He then turned to Namia with a dreamy expression on his face. "Go now." he removed himself from his leaning position on the tree and walked, dreamily away.

"SEI!" Namia yelled after she realized he was forgetting to grab his hiking gear. "You forgot your stuff!" she yelled. He didn't even turn around. She cursed men and her horrible luck, then climbed to her feet, grabbed both of their things, and rushed after the young boy.

Ryuko looked at the two as they disappeared into the forest. Then he took his deck out of his duel disk and started to look through the cards. 'That booster series they were talking about, my Blue-Eyes.."' he thought. Slowly a tear formed on his cheek as he thought about how horrible a way the card came into his hands. 'I'm doing this for you, grandfather!"' he told himself.

He stood up, now perfectly serious in his endeavor. He was about to leap out of the tree he had repositioned himself in, and challenge Namia to a duel, but he suddenly heard… CREAK! He paused and looked down at the branch he had stood up on. Slowly, very slowly the branch was cracking under his weight. As slowly as he could, he reached his hand up and grabbed for the branch above him, not fancying another twenty or so foot drop.

'Almost got it!"' he thought, his middle finger touching the wood on it. He almost had his hand around it, when, with an almighty lurch, the branch gave way. "Damn!" he uttered for the split second he was suspended in midair, then he fell, once more, onto the forest floor.

Shsei was snapped out of his reverie by the sound of a crash. He turned to Namia, who, breathing heavily, managed to catch up with him. "Did you hear something just now?" he asked again.

Namia shoved both of their hiking gear into his arms. "Yeah, you taking our stuff the rest of the way up the mountain!" she shouted, aggravated. Shisei blushed and forgot about the sound of the poor Ryuko, who was twitching, just as before, a few feet away.

Kou felt the pressure of the duel on his shoulders. 'Damnit Chiro, how come you had to get caught in such a duel that you'd die!"' he thought to himself. If what Kamishiro had said before was true, then he would permenately separate Chiro and Kou, and because Chiro wouldn't have a seal, he'd have to either find another body to share, or die.

"Tick-tock, the clock is ticking boy." Kamishiro said.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Kou responded, slipping his card off of the deck. He saw it and smirked. "I'm about to show you my next move, I'll activate Reasoning!" Several cards floated around him as a green tailored man in a turban appeared on his field. "Now you select a level star of monster!" Kou declared.

"I select…" he eyed his facedown card and smirked. "I select level four!" he yelled.

Kou drew one card, then discarded it, another met the same fate, then he stopped on the third. "My card allows me to draw cards until I come to a monster. If the monster I draw is the level you selected, then I discard it as well as the other drawn cards, if there are any. If not… Then I can special summon it!" he smirked and slid his favirote monster into the disk. "Say hello to Total Defense Shogun (1550/2500) in defense mode!" A mighty general of defense appeared, a long mane of black hair and his large broadsword flowing behind him.

"HA! Your useless fighter can't hope to attack angels and survive, while Mystical Shine Ball (500/500) may be weak, it's still useful, now just attack or end your turn!" Kamishiro was clearly growing impatient, Kou only wagged a finger.

"Uh-uh uh, I'll wait until my next turn!" he said. Kamishiro shrugged and drew. Kou was now sweating, he was only a measly three turns away from his chance at victory and he'd just wasted one of them.

"I'll switch my angel to defense mode. End turn." Kamishiro stated. Kou gulped.

'This is my last turn!"' Kou thought. "I draw!" he prayed, putting all his faith in any and everything into his deck. He kept his eyes closed until the card was drawn. Opening his eyes, he saw the card and smirked. "Your about to see my riskiest card, I activate Mystic Recycler!" he slid his card to the field and took another from his graveyard.

Kamishiro raised his eyebrows. "What does it do?" he asked, he sounded exhausted now.

"Simple, I pick one card in my graveyard and shuffle it into my deck!" he did this, a smile apparent on his face. "I chose Mystical Space Typhoon!" he told his opponent. He did this. "Now if I draw the type of card it is, monster, trap or magic, on this, my final draw, then I get to take that card and play it!" he shuffled his deck and looked at it. "Ready?" he asked, inserting his deck into his deck slot.

"Finish it, if you can." Kamishiro said.

"I draw!" he slid the top card of his disk, and smiled. "I drew, Warrior Returning Alive, a magic card!" he smirked and a tornado blew across the field toward the Final Countdown.

"Nice try, but you aren't that lucky!" he declared. "I activate Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell!" he told his young opponent. "Now I discard my Monster Reborn to negate your Mystical Space Typhoon's activation!" he smirked as the storm died down and Kou watched in horror as his own magic card's second ability kicked in, and his turn ended.

"My card states that my turn ends immediately after I use its effect, whether it works or not." he said, realizing his last hope was gone.

"Then I'll draw." Kamishiro drew twice and smiled evilly at him. "I end my turn!" he declared. The last of the flames went out. Glowing white light surrounded Kou, and the Astral form of the collapsed Chiro, still pale and sickly, appeared. "As per the stakes of our duel… Die, both of you." Kou wasn't ready for what came next.

The ground broke apart and a glowing, black winged creature appeared. It had the symbol of death on each of its seven wings. A cloak and a hood that was attached covered everything on it but its glowing red eyes. "YOUR MINE!" it roared. A schythe appeared in its hands, and it swept it back and then brought it forward too quick for even Kou to follow. He heard a wooshing sound, but felt no pain, as he left the world of the living.

Next time: Kou has fallen, just as Osmos has planned, but unfortunately, Shisei and Namia have yet to be defeated. Osmos didn't send Ryuko out for nothing though. Namia recieves the challenge of facing the young duelist, but her underestimating him is a big mistake. Will she fall to the boy's Dragons? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

To John: Remember when you asked about that Blue-eyes? Sneaky, huh?

A/N: Whew! Another chapter done! But I'd like to thank all my reviewers and alert you all that I'll be back on full time updating, which means at least a chapter a day! This story doesn't have too much longer now, but don't worry, there are another four sagas that I have yet to type up. So keep reviewing, and if you haven't been, please, out of the kindness of your heart, review!


	28. The Boy of Dragons

Disclaimer: Take a guess whether I own Yugioh. If you guess right, I'll give you a cookie! 

Chapter 28: The boy of Dragons

Higentaka Osmos growled in anger at the new development in his plans.'Damn, Kamishiro got rid of the brat, but he killed Chiro with him!"' he thought. Being crafty and precise were the things Osmos was best at. He made sure to tell Ryuko he'd return the "stolen" Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards to him after the tournament was done. He also made sure to invite the girl, Namia, he believed her name was, so as to keep Mr. Nandao occupied while he stealthily stole the soul of Chiro from him. Then he'd kill all three of the mortals and whip up a storm, send Yugi and the others back home and cancel the tournament. He'd have the spirit of the Seal Holder and he'd be able to finish… other things.

But, despite his carefully laid plans, things were far from good. Kamishiro, his faithful, yet sometimes too blunt servant, had killed the one he needed for his most important plan.

'Damn, don't know any spell that could bring them back!"' he growled at his misfortune, just as one of the many vidscreens across the room popped on.

"Sir, this is Ryuko, codename Omega Dragon, ready and waiting to receive orders on taking out the duelists you requested!" The face of a young, no older than 12 year-old boy appeared on the screen furthest to Osmos's left. Osmos turned to see Ryuko, looking disheveled with bits of wood and leaves in his messy brown hair, staring at him.

"Ah, Ryuko!" Osmos smiled. He now felt a certain determination to make at least one thing go right today. "I've just managed to secure the items that your grandfather wished for in his…erm… final moments!" he made himself look saddened at the thought of seeing Ryuko's grandfather, whom he had never met nor cared about meeting, die.

Ryuko's eyes went wide. "I'll finish them off soon sir, and return for the item then!" Ryuko said with determination. The vidscreen went blank again, and Osmos sipped his wine, now with a smile on his face.

Namia and Shisei struggled up the final bit of mountain, Shisei almost falling for the umpteenth time. Namia looked at the long, winding road in front of them. She sighed in exhaustion and sat down on a rock. Shisei took deep shuddering breaths, and removed a water bottle from his backpack.

"Having fun?" Namia asked. Shisei took several hundred swallows and then removed the bottle from his lips.

"Yep." he replied. He opened his pack and put the bottle in, still open.

Namia raised an eyebrow. "Won't that make your stuff wet?" she asked.

"Nope, I finished the water about four hours ago, but you can still taste it if you swallow hard enough." Shisei stated. Namia looked at him as though he were some odd space alien. "What!" he asked.

"You guys are freaks, aren't you?" a shadowed voice asked from the shadows. Namia and Shisei turned sharply, afraid that they had come across more "eliminators". They had, but this one, was a young brown haired boy. He stepped fully out of the shadows. "I'm just going to give it to you straight," he began, raising a duel disk. "I'm going to duel one of you, and then you'll give me all the fingers you've won!" he smirked, apparently thinking he had scared Shisei and Namia stiff. This was a plausible thought, as neither of them was moving.

Namia suddenly rushed forward and pressed her cheek against the young Ryuko's. "AWW! YOUR SO CUTE!" She rubbed her cheek against his, yelling this over and over. Shisei burst out laughing and Ryuko struggled to escape. After finally separating himself from Namia, he took an impossible leap away from her and landed in a Fir tree.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH YOU GUYS!" he yelled down to Shisei and Namia. They both looked at each other, and shrugged. Ryuko began to wipe blush from his face, muttering about women wearing to much make up. "I came here to duel, now who's goin-" he began, but he cut off as he heard a familiar creak. He looked down at the cracked branch with tears in his eyes. "Um, could you guys call for an ambulance?" he asked Namia and Shisei.

"What do you mean?" Shisei finally said, able to talk now after his previous laughing fit. He got his answer as the tree branch Ryuko had taken refuge in fell, and, of course, so did the boy on it.

Namia rushed over to him, only to see him spring up suddenly. "HA! Your over here, now lets duel!" Ryuko yelled. Namia blinked in surprise.

"What is with you and wanting to duel?" she asked him.

"I have to…" he looked away with a hurt look in his eyes. "HEY! I CAME HERE TO DUEL!" he suddenly shouted.

"I gathered that." Shisei muttered under his breath.

Namia sighed and looked at Shisei, who was suddenly huffing and puffing with tiredness. 'Great, looks like I have to duel the kid."' she thought, readying her disk. "Okay, I'll duel you if you can bet your own fingers!" she stated in a motherly voice.

Ryuko smirked and removed from his pocket… Four fingers that were the exact same as the four Namia and Shisei already had. "I'll give you almost enough for your second hand!" he stated. Namia's eyes widened an she scrambled to get ready.

"Alright, Duel!" she exclaimed, ignoring Shisei's "I'm feeling a lot better now" speech.

Namia-8000

Ryuko-8000

"Ladies first!" Ryuko stated, drawing six cards. "I'll start by-" he was cut off as Namia interjected.

"Didn't you just say "ladies first?" she asked, utterly confused.

Ryuko blinked and then blushed furiously. "I thought that was just an expression." he mumbled. Namia and Shisei sweat dropped. Ryuko covered his cheeks with his cards and slid one into the disk. "I'll summon Luster Dragon #2 (1900/1600) in attack mode!" he declared, removing his cards from his face and getting back into his duel mode. "End turn!" he declared as Namia drew.

"I'll summon Blazing Inpachi (1850/0) in attack mode." Her familiar burning tree appeared in a fighters position. The purple and white dragon across from it roared. "Then I'll set two cards, go." she finished her turn by sliding two card into her disk.

Ryuko nodded and drew his next card. "By the way, to answer your question before, I'm supposed to carry out Osmos's wishes!" he stated.

Namia's eyes went wide. As did Shisei's. "You mean a kid like you is working for Osmos!" Shisei beat Namia to the punch of asking this question.

Ryuko chuckled. "That's right, and when I get all four of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's back, I'll be in business!" he declared.

"You want the Blue-Eyes White Dragons!" Namia suddenly felt lightheaded. Osmos had apparently told her opponent he could have the most powerful of normal summon, no effect monsters in the game if he did whatever he told the boy. "You know he doesn't have them, right? Seto Kaiba ow-" she began, but Ryuko cut her off.

"Don't you dare say he owns them!" he roared. "He doesn't have what it takes to be the master of dragons!" Ryuko felt tears stinging his eyes. "My Grandfather is the master of dragons, real and in Duel Monsters!" he slammed his next card onto the disk. "HE IS THE TRUE CREATOR OF THE BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON!" Ryuko yelled.

Shisei stumbled off of his rock. Namia gasped. "That's impossible!" she yelled to the young boy.

"I'll summon Divine Dragon-Ragnarok (1500/1000) in attack mode!" he declared. Namia didn't even notice as a golden dragon roared and swooped down from the heavens. "Attack, Luster Dragon, get rid of her Burnt wood (1850/0)!" he commanded. His first dragon rushed at Namia's Blazing Inpachi (1850/0)and she barely activated her trap in time.

"I activate Widespread Ruin!" suddenly Ryuko's Luster Dragon burst into a shocking array of orangish flames, falling to the ground as digital dust. "It destroys your highest attack monster." Namia informed Ryuko.

"Fine, I'll set this card facedown and end my move!" Ryuko growled. Something seemed different about the previously happy-go-lucky boy. His entire body seemed to be emanating with a dangerous force. Namia gulped and drew.

"I'll activate Backfire!" No immediate effect happened, but as Namia slid another card onto her slot by sending her Inpachi to the graveyard, flames showered Ryuko with heat, but he didn't even flinch. "Now whenever a fire monster is destroyed, no matter how it is, you lose 500 LP!" she smirked as her new monster appeared. "I sacrificed my monster to bring Thestalos, the Firestorm Monarch (2400/1000) to the field in attack mode!" A samurai like warrior holding a red flame emerged from its card. The flame it carried suddenly shot over and burned one of the cards Ryuko held.

"What the?" Ryuko looked at his hand in surprise a hologram of the burning card appeared. "What's going on?" he asked Namia.

"Simple, when Thestalos (2400/1000)is summoned, he gets to select a card in your hand and destroy it, this time its your Red Eyes Black Dragon," she stated, eyeing the hologram that appeared with satisfaction. "Now if it's a monster, which it was, then you lose LP equal to the level star times 100!" she smirked and Ryuko growled as his LP dropped more. "Now for my Thestalos (2400/1000) to destroy your Divine Dragon-Ragnarok (1500/1000)!" The samurai nodded and rushed at the Divine Dragon, unsheathing a flaming katana.

Namia-8000

Ryuko-6800

"Reveal facedown card, Reversal of Dragonic: Fusion!" Ryuko yelled. Namia's eyes went wide, never having heard of this card. "Never heardit, eh?" Ryuko asked.

"No, what does it do?" she asked suspiciously.

"Fist off, I lose my monster and take double damage for its destruction," Ryuko started, watching as his LP dropped.

Namia-8000

Ryuko-5000

"But now I get to bring out a dragon fusion that's the same level star as a dragon monster that was destroyed this turn." he finished. Suddenly, a very odd looking dragon rose from the ground with a ferocious roar. It had a golden underbelly with a black front and a long slender body. "Meet King Dragun (2400/1200) in attack mode, he's a friend of mine!" Ryuko smirked as Namia gulped.

"Hey, you didn't lose a level seve-." Namia started, but then she remembered she had sent his Red Eyes to the graveyard. "Fine, then I end my turn." she glared at the boy as he drew.

"Now I'm really going to heat things up, I'll use my monsters special ability to special summon a Dragon monster from my hand!" he declared. Suddenly a glowing white Dragon appeared, its entire body looked like a diamond. "Behold, Hyozanryu (2100/2800) in defense mode!" the dragon growled and wrapped its tail around itself. "I'll then normal summon my Spear Dragon, in defense mode.!" he declared, now with a defensive army of dragons. "And I'll set these last two cards facedown." he successfully emptied his hand into his disk.

'He's blocked me off from his LP, but I can still destroy his weaker dragon… Unless that's what he wants."' Namia eyed his facedown cards and decided to contemplate her move at the same time as squeeze some information out of the boy. "Hey, why do you call your grandfather the true master of dragons anyway?" she asked as softly as possible. "And what do you mean he created the Blue eyes?" she finished.

Ryuko made a feeble smile. "My grandfather… he was a great man." he stated. At first Namia and Shisei thought that was all they'd get from him, but he slowly continued. "Pegasus and my grandfather were friends, the best of friends." he continued. Namia found this shocking, but tried not to gasp. "My grandfather, Ryudoshi Katanawa, had known Pegasus from his American art school." he continued.

"They worked on many projects and murals together, they were inseparable… until that woman, Ceceilia, I think her name was, won Pegasus's heart." he gulped, he didn't seem to harbor hate towards "that woman" so much as to Pegasus. "This was of course so long ago, but anyway, when this woman, Ceceilia died, Pegasus lost a lot of inspiration. A lot of his will to live too. My grandfather couldn't help him through his pain, he tried, but couldn't." he bit his lower lip.

"What then?" Shisei asked. Namia glared at him for making Ryuko retell such painfulthings.

"Pegasus eventually went to Egypt, where he got that weird eye and the inspiration to create Duel Monsters. Well he went to my grandad with the idea and together they worked on the way the game would be played, the monster effects were my grandfather's specialty. Pegasus was better, of course, but his card effects were to powerful to be used, like the god cards. Anyway, my Grandfather, being a dragon-" he paused and shook his head. "lover, dragon lover." he replaced, obviously about to say something else.

"As I was saying, he made the first ever dragon cards, the Blue Eyes White Dragon." he stated. "At first, everything seemed great again, but then, one day, when their business was to be opened, Pegasus showed my Grandfather the patent, or whatever, saying he officially owned Duel Monsters. He opened Industrial Illusions and left my grandfather high and dry." Ryuko said bitterly. "A while after this, since Pegasus had kept my grandfather's Blue-Eyes White Dragon Cards, though he had made at least a thousand of them, my grandpa snuck into the only factory they had back then and snuck the first Blue Eyes White Dragon card ever made, this one quite a deal different, from the warehouse. He deleted the image from all of the computers, and burned down the warehouse!" Ryuko said proudly.

"But there were still four cards left?" Namia asked, ignoring Shisei's gasp of shock.

"Yeah, Pegasus somehow trapped my grandfather in the burning wearhouse and escaped with four of his creations." he finished sadly. "Didn't you ever wonder why there are only four Blue-Eyes white Dragons?" he asked them.

"Yeah, but you said he deleted the images of the card, how did Industrial Illusions remake it then?" she asked, referring to the Blue-Eyes that was supposedly in the new booster series and the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, of which rumor had it, Kaiba owned as well.

Ryuko shrugged. "I don't know, now just make your move." He smirked, happy he hadn't given out the tinier details of the story, about how his father had helped in the warehouse burning and escaped with the first created Blue-Eyes, which went by a slightly different name…

"Fine, I'll summon the Phoenix of Blue Fire (1500/1500)!" a blue Phoenix with swirling blue flames flew from the air. "And I'll use its special ability, to bring the Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500) to the field, by paying 3500 LP!" Namia's strongest monster shot from the sky to land next to her Phoenix of Blue Fire (1500/1500). "And I'll attack your King Dragun (2400/1200)!" she declared.

Namia-4500

Ryuko-5000

"I'll activate, Shift!" Ryuko declared. A strong gust suddenly swept up and blue the golden flames spreading out towards King Dragun, towards Spear Dragon. "This will make you target Spear Dragon (1900/0) instead!" the blue and white dragon roared as it burst into flames.

"I guess I'm done then." Namia stated. 'Darn, I don't really want to suicide my monster, so I'll just wait until next turn."' she thought.

Ryuko drew his next card. His lip curled into a smile. "I'm about to show you the power of the end of the world, girly!" he declared, sliding another monster onto the disk. "I'll use the effect of King Dragun (2400/1200) to bring forth, the ultimate, the mighty, the Blue-Eyes Omega Dragon (3500/3000)!" a rush of power came forward from the sky as a shining white dragon with symbols of destruction upon its scales appeared. "Let's see whose monsteris stronger!" Ryuko declared. The Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500) and the Blue-Eyes Omega Dragon (3500/3000) glaring at one another from their owners field.

Next time: The beasts of Ryuko and Namia show off their stuff, with Ryuko's dragons showing a distinct lead. But don't count Namia out yet, she's got plenty of tricks up her sleeve, as she summons another Phoenix. Can her flaming Phoenixes best the Roaring Dragons of Ryuko? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

To Rex: You stole one of my phrases…(looks down sadly) I think I need hug! Just kidding, I don't care… OR DO I! BUM Bum bummmmmmmm!


	29. Crouching Phoenix, Hidden Dragon

Disclaimer: Take a guess whether I own Yugioh. If you guess right, I'll give you a cookie! 

**Chapter 29: Crouching Phoenix, Hidden Dragon**

The newest dragon that appeared on Ryuko's field glowed with white light. It had shimmering blue eyes that glowered at Namia and her monsters. "Now I'll activate my facedown card, Reversal of Dragonic-Kamikaze!" Ryuko's last facedown card flipped. This one pictured two monsters, a Black Skull Dragon overcoming a Masked Beast, even though they had the same attack points. "This allows any dragon monster to come out on top when the fight would normally be a suicide!" Ryuko declared. All his dragons glowed.

"No!" Namia gasped in shock as she realized what this meant. His Omega Dragon (3500/3000) and her Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500) were tied in attack strength, but because of his trap card, his monster would win in a battle.

"That's right, I'll now switch my Hyozanryu (2100/2800) into attack mode!" his diamond dragon stood up and roared as he said this. "Then I'll attack your Thestalos (2400/1000) with my King Dragun (2400/1200)!" The odd looking dragon laughed with mirth and blasted a mix of wind and lightning at Thestalos.

"Counter attack!" Namia commanded her samurai, though she knew it was useless. Her monster did as commanded and sent a giant ball of flame at King Dragun just as it was blown to pieces. The flame soared through the air and almost hit Ryuko's dragon, but a symbol appeared and spun the fire out.

"Nice try, but you can't beat a dragon with any elemental attack!" Ryuko yelled happily. "Now I'll attack your Blue Phoenix (1500/1500) with Hyozanryu (2100/2800)!" the diamond dragon head butted the weaker beast. "Take out her last bird, Blue-Eyes Omega (3500/3000)!" The final attack was a giant ball of white thunder shot from the mouth of the dragon. Namia's monster blew a golden flame at him as a counter attack, but it met the same fate as Thestalos's fire. "End turn!" Ryuko smirked and did a little victory dance as Namia drew her next card.

"I'll set on card facedown and summon Blast Magician (1400/1700) in defense mode!" Namia said. A red robed mage with a sour look on his pale face appeared in a kneeling position. "End turn." Namia stated. Ryuko clapped and drew, ignoring his LP drop due to Backfire.

Namia-4500

Ryuko-3500

"It really was a nice try, but you're about to lose." he congratulated. Namia didn't seem to mind his mockery of the duel. "I'll start with Pot of Greed!" the brown haired boy slid a card into his disk, and took to others from the top of his deck.

'One down, six to go!"' Namia thought, as a spell counter appeared before her Blast Magician (1400/1700).

"I'll now activate my Dragun's special ability, and bring the Luster Dragon (2400/2000) to the field in attack mode!" another shimmering blue dragon appeared, this one full grown and growling. "Say goodbye, Hyozanryu (2100/2800) blast her mage into the next dimension!" Ryuko ordered. The diamond beast head butted towards the Blast Magician. The magician looked shocked, but didn't manage to utter a cry as it was obliterated. "Now I'll end this duel, Blue Eyes Omega Dragon (5250/3000) attack!" the boy yelled. His beast launched another white lightning as Namia pressed a button on her disk.

"Activate Scapegoat, now you'll have to get rid of my sheep tokens before my LP!" Namia stated. Ryuko shrugged and pointed to her remaining three tokens. Luster Dragon (2400/2000) and King Dragun (2400/1200) blasted two of them to pieces.

"End turn." Ryuko smirked at the female duelist.

"I'll draw then!" Namia picked up her next card and looked at the other cards in her hand. "You know, Osmos won't return the Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards." Namia stated, studying the field. "HEY!" she yelled just as Ryuko was about to say he believed Osmos. "Your monster has WAY more attack points than before!" she yelled to the boy.

Ryuko chuckled. "Yeah, my Omega Dragon (5250/3000) permanently gets half the attack points of any monster it destroys in battle, your Phoenix was no exception!" Ryuko laughed. "And Osmos promised he'd return my grandfather's cards, so there!" he finished defiantly.

Namia sighed with sadness. "Osmos is an evil man, he won't help you if he can help it, Ryuko." she stated. Ryuko glared at her.

"HE WILL!" he yelled, still more defiantly.

"I'll win this duel and ask for Kaiba to ante the cards, then you won't have to listen to Osmos, right?" Namia asked. Ryuko's eyes went wide.

'Is this broad serious!"' the young boy thought. "I don't believe you!" he yelled to Namia, he sounded unsure of himself though. "JUST GO!" he said angrily.

Namia smiled politely. 'I may be getting through to him. I can't let Osmos toy with other people's lives like he's toying with ours."' Namia though with her own flaming defiance. "I'll start my turn with Monster Reborn, to revive my Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500)!" she smirked. "This time, I'll use its special ability!" The mighty Phoenix and the rest of the field suddenly burst into flames. "Now all of your monsters are gone." Namia declared. She then gasped.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ryuko burst out laughing, tears in his young eyes. "My King Dragun is a fusion of Lord of D. and Divine Dragon-Ragnarok, it negates effects that would target dragons, and my Omega Dragon has the same effect!" he stated as Namia's monster and half of her LP disappeared without any negative effect to her opponent, excluding Backfire's effect.

Namia-2250

Ryuko-2500

"I still get my Phoenix Egg (0/0), it may seem weak now, but it gains 500 attack points every turn end." A glowing egg appeared as per the effect of the female duelist's strongest Phoenix. "Now I'll set these two cards. End turn." Her final cards appeared and her minute egg (500/500) grew larger.

"I'll go now!" Ryuko drew and slid a card into his disk. "I'll now summon the Blackland Fire Dragon (1500/800) in defense mode." another dragon, this one with green skin and a deep, dangerous growl, appeared. "I now have an army of dragons, and your fire monsters have burnt out." Ryuko stated. "I'll attack your egg (500/500) with my King Dragun (2400/1200)!" the egg was close to being blasted by thunder, but suddenly, a whirlwind swept up and stopped the attack.

"Nice try, but I activated my Negate Attack. It targets your battle phase, not your monsters, so it works." Namia stated, wiping sweat from her brow. Ryuko shrugged and motioned for her to go. She drew. "I'll now activate Pyro Clock of Destiny!" she activated the card she set in the disk earlier and her egg (1500/1500) grew even larger until a crying Phoenix baby emerged. "End turn." she stated. Her Phoenix suddenly disappeared and a white shine filled the room as the Phoenix of White Fire (2000/2000) emerged. "Meet my newest Phoenix monster!" Namia stated. Ryuko shrugged and began his turn.

"I'll start by setting this card and attack you Phoenix with my Blue Eyes Omega (5250/3000) ending the duel!" he laughed manically as his Blue Eyes Omega blasted the final attack of the duel at the Phoenix of White Fire.

Namia-2250

Ryuko-0

Ryuko did a double take as he saw the fading LP score. "Wha-" he asked, dazed at how his LP showed zero, and not his opponents.

"Sorry, but you're my monster's special ability allows me to make you take all the battle damage for an attack- WHA!" Namia asked as the Hologram of Blue Eyes Omega (5250/3000) flickered and reappeared.

Ryuko wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead again, realizing how dangerously close he was to losing. "I activated Reversal of Dragonic-Final Battle, now you chose a monster in your deck and on of the monsters I have on the field will do battle. Basically the same as Last Battle, only its activation is limited to my LP reaching zero while I have a more powerful monster on the field than you." Ryuko stated.

"Sly, I'll choose.." Namia picked her deck up out of her deck slot and looked through all the cards, realizing no normal monster, nor any effect monster she could find, had enough attack points. Then her eyes widened as she saw another of her Phoenix cards. "This is it, I'll bring out my second in command of the Phoenix monsters, he may seem weak, but he's plenty strong, say hello to: Phoenix of Silver Fire (3000/3000) in attack mode!" she yelled. Another Phoenix, the exact same as the others except with silver wings and flames whipping around it, appeared.

"Bravo, bravo, you've successfully brought a monster that's more than 2000 attack points weaker than my dragon, any last requests?" Ryuko asked mockingly. Namia only wagged a finger.

"Now, now, now, you should have figured out by now, all of the Phoenix monsters have special abilities, and this one allows me to Special summon as many Phoenix monsters as possible from the graveyard, at the cost of them all being destroyed at my end phase, and they can't attack." Namia stated. Just as she was saying this, the Silver Phoenix (3000/3000) roared it's beautiful song and the ground rumbled as flames of blue, white, and gold shot from the ground.

"Nice, but it's a one-on-one battle to the finish." Ryuko said, obviously bored.

"Ah, but now I can use the secondary effect of my Silver Fire Phoenix (2000/2000), and sacrifice 1000 of its attack points, to increase my LP by the same amount!" her LP increased.

Namia-3250

Ryuko "0"

"What are you doing!" Ryuko asked, clearly confused.

"Just watch, as I use my Phoenix of Blue Fire's (1500/1500) effect to bring the final Phoenix to the field. Behold, the Phoenix of Black Fire (2500/2500)!" she declared. The final Phoenix of the embers appeared and growled with anger. It didn't sing, and the flames behind it were a deep black.

Shisei looked incredulously at the duel in front of him. 'This is incredible, Namia has all of the Phoenix of the Embers on the field at the same time! That's an unheard of move!"' the blond boy thought. He now understood how Kou could have a crush on the fire duelist.

"I'll end this duel with my Phoenix of Black Fire's (2500/2500) effect." she stated.

"Yeah, show me what your birdbrains can do." Ryuko retorted.

"You've probably noticed all of the Phoenix's so far sing a beautiful melody, right?" she asked. Ryuko rolled his eyes and nodded. "Well the reason my Phoenix of Black Fire won't sing is because it was born in a different way than any other Phoenix. It's egg, wasn't a star, but the soul of a deadly demon." she stated. "It will gladly kill its brethren to get power, and its about to do so." she stated. The dark flames spread through the field and the other Phoenixes suddenly began to screech their once beautiful melody. "Now Phoenix, devour your brethren and absorb their strength!" Namia commanded.

"Wh-what are you saying!" asked Ryuko worriedly, now his Dragon (5250/3000) seemed afraid.

"By sacrificing Fire monsters, I can increase my Phoenix's attack by the amount of monsters. Sorry, my Phoenix's, but you will be reborn. Now, Phoenix of Black Fire (12500/12500) Soul of Demon Fire!" Black flames shot out of the Phoenix's mouth, mixed with faint traces of gold, blue, white and silver.

"Blue-Eyes, counterattack." Ryuko said, already knowing he had lost.

Namia-750

Ryuko-0

The holograms disappeared, and Ryuko collapsed with tears in his eyes. "Grandpa, I'm so sorry, I failed!" Ryuko cried. Namia rushed over and patted him on the shoulder, Shisei as well.

"Ryuko, don't you worry, we'll get those cards back!" Namia said. Ryuko slowed his sobbing and looked at them.

"Y-you'd really help me!" he asked. Namia nodded.

"Yeah, now give us the fingers." Shisei stated, Namia hit the blond over the head. "Ow, what was that for!" he glared at Namia, who helped Ryuko up.

"Thanks, really." Ryuko said, brushing himself off. He then gulped. "Oh no, Osmos will probably be contacting me any minute!" Ryuko stated. Just then, his watch, which doubled as a contact device, beeped. Before he could answer it, Shisei removed the watch and tossed it down the mountain.

"Your not going back to Osmos, no matter what. He'll probably take your soul or something for failing." Shisei said, Namia nodding in agreement. "You don't have to stick with us, but don't go back to him." Shisei said.

Ryuko looked up at Shisei and Namia in shock, he sensed something different about these people, some genuine kindness that Osmos didn't carry. He looked at the Blue-Eyes Omega card, it seemed to shimmer with a brighter light than the normal foil shimmer. 'I will, grandpa."' he thought. "Alright, if you'll really help me… I'm in." Ryuko said, smiling. Shisei flashed the thumbs up and Namia hugged him again.

"Well, to the team… as soon as Kou gets back, anyway!" Shisei yelled to sky above him and his two teammates.

Next time: Kamishiro, on his way back to the castle meets up with an anxious to duel Ryuko, Shisei and Namia. After informing them on the death of Kou and Chiro, he accepts a duel with three to one odds. In his opponent's favor! Will Namia, Shisei, and Ryuko win a three to one match against the crafty Kamishiro? Find out Next time on Duel Monsters Maximum!


	30. A Remarkable Challenge

Disclaimer: Take a guess whether I own Yugioh. If you guess right, I'll give you indigestion! 

Chapter 30: _A Remarkable Challenge_

Shisei looked at the landscape in front of him. It was a dazzling sight, to be on the top of the mountain. He saw the sparkling ocean and the many forests glowing with their brilliant light. "Hey, were only a few miles away from the castle by what I can see!" he yelled to Namia and Ryuko, who were talking behind him.

"Alright!" Namia responded. She picked up the Swiss Army Knife she was using to cut open some fish that Ryuko had caught. "You'd think they'd at least have a food stand." she said in annoyance at having to carve and cat her own food.

"Ha, you just got to know how to do it, then it's easy!" Ryuko said. Namia looked doubtfully at Ryuko, who was already cooking his small trout.

"Whatever you say." she replied as Shisei came back from the edge, where he had inspected the view, and grabbed the last fish. As he began to scale it, Namia took off her fingers and set them down.

"Okay, how many do we have, not counting Kou's until we can find him?" she asked. Shisei took off his own fingers and set them beside Namia's. "One, two, three…" Namia counted aloud. Ryuko added the four he anted. Namia looked at him in shock.

"I lost didn't I?" Ryuko smirked Shisei's eyes suddenly got teary and he rushed over and hugged the young dragon duelist.

"WE HAVE EIGHT FINGERS! WE HAVE EIGHT FINGERS!" he shouted to the whole world. "NINE COUNTING KOU'S!" he finished, tossing Ryuko up and down he was so happy.

"Um, Sei, you wanna put that fire on your leg out!" asked Namia worriedly. Shisei stopped and looked down to see the flames on his left leg slowly moving up.

"AHHHHHH! HOT HOT HOT!" he yelled. He dropped Ryuko and began an odd dance around the entire camp, making Namia laugh until he stopped when his leg was safe. "Oh ha-ha!" he glared at Namia as she finished laughing and put the fish over the fire.

"Well at least we have something to look forward to." Ryuko said, looking up at the large castle where Osmos stayed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Osmos sat in front of the top three duelists in the world. Ready to explain his tournament's rulings to them and what their place would be. Yugi Moto, Joey Wheeler, and Seto Kaiba all sat in nervous silence as Osmos straightened his tie and began. "I hope you enjoyed the plane ride over here, and I hope you enjoy your stay in this, my beautiful castle of the stars." he said, motioning around himself to the castle they were in.  
"Why the hell did you ask us to come here again?" Kaiba asked, cutting straight to the point. Osmos smiled toward Kaiba.

"Very simple, Mr. Kaiba." he started, taking a seat across from the other three duelist. "I want a bit of publicity for my tournament." he stated. To say this was a bit untruthful would have been an understatement. The reason he wanted Yugi at the tournament, and only Yugi, was so that the blond boy would feel the need to participate. After all, Osmos had at first, thought Shisei harbored the spirit of the seal holder. 'Damn that blond brat, I went through all this trouble and I still didn't get what I need because it was his damn best friend!"' he though to himself, a sour expression crossing his face for a moment.

"Uh, you okay man?" Joey asked him. He nervously scooted his chair back a few inches.

"Fine, fine Mr. Wheeler." Osmos continued. "Now as you all know, this tournament will have many very good duelists, it is your main job to be the sort of "Final Competitors" that they must face," he began.

"So instead of having a finals round between the top two duelists…" Yugi began questioningly.

"You will be the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final contestants, in a way." Osmos said. "After you all have won or lost your duels, the duelists will move on to challenge me." Osmos smiled and awaited comments.

"Why would anyone want to duel you after us!" Kaiba asked rudely. Osmos glared at him. "By what my men told me, your hardly in the top twenty." he finished with a mocking smirk.

"Yeah well from what I heard, Kaiba, your hardly in the top twenty animals closest to human!" Joey glared. He loved insulting Kaiba, even when there was no reason for it. Yugi raised an eyebrow to his best friend. But Joey ignored this and smirked mockingly at Kaiba. "You didn't even rank in with the ape, isn't that something?" he smirked.

"Well at least I have more than twenty brain cells, something you couldn't vouch to in an alternate dimension, dog." Kaiba's lip curled into a cruel smile as Joey lunged, getting held back by Osmos.

"Enough bickering, allow me the time to finish." Osmos said, pointing to Joey's seat and motioning for him to take it. Kaiba rolled his eyes and muttered something about the ultimate boredowm. "To answer your question, Mr. Kaiba, the only reason I'm a lower contender is because I haven't the time to spend every second of my time thinking up new ways to beat a spiky haired midget in a child's game!" he said sinisterly, leaning in so that only Kaiba could here.

Kaiba stood up, just as tall as Osmos and glared at him. "Mokuba will be duelin in my place." he informed Osmos, who was standing up to his full height and smoothing his tie. "I'll be leaving to manage my company." Kaiba stated, striding out of the room, stopping only to grab his briefcase.

"You two may report back to your rooms, if you wish." Osmos stated. Yugi and Joey hurried out into the corrider, anxious to separate themselves from Osmos.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Kamishiro looked up as the clouds passed over him., seeing the bright sky made him happier than ever before. Well it wasn't really the sky that made him so ecstatic, it was actually the fact that he had creamed Chiro and his "host" , Kou in a duel. 'Fools though they could beat me, looks like they thought wrong!"' he said to himself, just as he crossed the final stretch of the mountain he was climbing.

"Hey, are you headed to the castle too?" Shisei's voice reached the ears of the cloaked man. Kamishiro turned and looked at the blond youth in surprise. "Cause we need another duel, want to bet us a finger or two?" Shisei finished. Namia and Ryuko appeared from behind him.

"KAMISHIRO!" Ryuko yelled suddenly, forcing all in his present company to cover their ears. "What are you doing here!" he added.

"Ah, young dragon, did you defeat the ones Osmos asked?" Kamishiro responded, wondering who the people with the young dragon duelist were.

"Nope, they said Osmos would betray me. Speaking of which," Ryuko began. "you should get out of Osmos's circle too, he almost stole these guy's souls!" Ryuko had been told the story of how Namia and Kou had a duel for their soul due to the soul eater on the mainland, and about other things.

"Ah, so these are the young, yet powerful Namia and Shisei, I presume?" Kamishiro asked silkily. He was going to enjoy this.

"Yeah, and you work for Osmos." Shisei stated. He didn't extend his hand, but Kamishiro wouldn't have shook even if he did.

"Um, are you guys okay?" Ryuko asked Namia and Shisei. He didn't really understand why they couldn't just all be friends. "Don't worry, Kamishiro wouldn't hurt a fly!" he finished.

"AH, but killing a fly I would do." Kamishiro stated. Ryuko looked up at him with shock on his boyish face.

"Wha-what do you mean, killing I would do?" he asked slowly.

"Kouichi Nandao was a very big fly, he had to be swatted." Kamishiro stated. Shisei's eyes widened in horror at what he was hearing.

"What did you do to him!" he asked in building anxiety. Kamishiro still unknowingly smiled.

"He's dead, his body is gone and so is his soul, but to a place more despicable than the Shadow Realm!" Kamishiro said.

"NO!" Namia yelled, unbelieving the man in front of her. "Your lying!" she exclaimed.

"I'm not, and soon you two will have to join him, right Ryuko!" Kamishiro finished. He then tossed back his head and laughed. Ryuko could feel the rage building inside of him, he could feel the pain of the others, he had to choose a side.

"I challenge you to a duel, Kamishiro!" he said quietly. Kamishiro stopped laughing and looked down at the young boy. "Well, do you except?" Ryuko finished.

Kamishiro slid his duel disk on his arm in happiness. "I have a better idea, we'll have a four way shadow duel!" suddenly the area around them was swept into the Shadow Realm and Shisei and Namia had their duel disk's on.

"You realize Ryuko will have to duel with us, and Namia's definitely dueling with me!" Shisei said. "So your outnumbered, three to one!" Kamishiro nodded as Sei finished.

"I understand perfectly, mortal, now lets make the stakes clear, we all betting souls?" Kamishiro asked. Shisei glared but knew he had no choice. Ryuko nodded with determination, but Namia spoke up with anger in her voice.

"You just killed Kou and now you want to kill us, well you won't win!" she said. "And if we win, you have to restore life to Kou and Chiro!" she yelled.

"Ah, fine, I suppose so, after all, the chances of that happening are none!" Kamishiro declared with a laugh. "And I will, unlike the usual way a duel of such caliber would take place, receive no extra draws, summons/sets, LP, or turns." Kamishiro replied boldly. "Now let's duel!" the four duelists adjusted their duel disks and their LP scores rose to full as they prepared to duel.

Kamishiro-8000

Shisei-8000

Ryuko-8000

Namia-8000

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Next time: The duel between are favorites and not so favirote duelists begin. Shisei's immediate strategy, is blocked by two cards, and with another simple card, Ryuko's dragons can't break through to attack. Can the three break through Kamishiro's defense and win? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

A/N: Okay, my keyboard stopped working for a while, well actually forever as we bought a new one, but I'm back and ready. Sorry for the delay of this chapter and sorry no actual dueling, but the next chappy will be doozy, so don't fall behind!

To Rex: Hm, didn't know that, but just so I don't confuse others, I'm going to refer to them as I did before, at least until the sequel!


	31. In a Blaze of Glory

Disclaimer: Take a guess whether I own Yugioh. If you guess right, I'll give you a headache! 

_Chapter 31: The Sealing Combo_

Kamishiro slid his cards from his disk and looked them over with a look of glee. "I'll go first." he slid three cards into the silver disk. "I'll set these three cards facedown and one defense mode monster. Now to you three." Kamishiro finished, having all brown back cards on his field.

Shisei studied his opponent's field for a second, then drew his card. "Okay, I'll set one card and activate a magic card, Change of Heart!" Wings erupted from the back of the shadowed monster as he said this, but he then screeched in pain and coughed up some blood.

"Foolish boy, I activated my Curse of Darkness trap, I believe your familiar with its effects!" he asked.

"Da-damn you!" Shisei growled, but the black wings were stilll glowing. "It doesn't matter though, your monster still becomes mine!" Shisei declared, even though he lost an eighth of his LP.

Kamishiro-8000

Namia-8000

Ryuko-8000

Shisei-7000

Kamishiro wagged a finger as Blindly Loyal Goblin (1800/1500) flipped. "Ah, but my Blindly Loyal Goblin will follow my wishes no matter what I say, you can't persuade him like most other beasts!" Kamishiro said with malice. Shisei realized he was already behind, and half the cards in his deck would cost him 1000 LP to play.

He growled and tapped the end turn button on his disk. "I'm done, now Namia, take him out!" he flashed the thumbs up at Namia as she drew her card.

"I'll start with The Thing in the Crater (1000/1200) in defense mode!" she declared, hoping an attack would be launched against her monster. "Then I set two cards facedown. Don't let us down Ryuko!" she smiled at the young boy that stood next to her, though he couldn't see it from the shadow.

"You three are simply pathetic." Kamishiro stated as Ryuko growled and drew his card.

"Why don't you go f&# yourself!" Namia glared at him. Kamishiro only shook his head and chuckled.

"I agree with that statement." Shisei piped up.

"Yeah, and I'm sure he'll agree with this one, summon, Spear Dragon (1900/0) in attack mode!" a blue dragon with a white underbelly appeared and growled. "Now I'll attack with Spear Dragon!" the dragon screeched at the Loyal Goblin. Before the attack made contact, however, it fizzled out and the dragon fell to the ground with its wings protecting it from harm. "WHAT!" Ryuko questioned.

"What now?" asked Namia, now she was a bit worried as none of them had caused any harm to the field of their opponent.

"My Dragon Capture Jar will seal all dragons in a defensive position." Kamishiro stated, smiling.

"NO WAY!" Shisei yelled.

"Sei, what are you so upset about?" Namia asked him, not ready for such and outburst.

"Yeah, plenty of people have a card like that in their deck." Ryuko said with a hand over his ear.

Shisei turned to them looking like he was ready to explain something. "Don't you think its odd that he had the perfect hand to take all of our strategies apart!" he asked them. Ryuko and Namia realized this was true.

"Your cheating! You had Curse of Darkness for Shisei, a strong attack monster knowing I don't have that many really strong non-tribute fire monsters, and Dragon Capture Jar for Ryuko!" Namia declared. Kamishiro tossed back his head and laughed.

"My entire deck was made to take you all on!" he told them.

Ryuko's eyes widened as he realized what this meant. "You mean… Osmos knew I'd join these guys!" he asked. Kamishiro nodded, still laughing.

"Osmos's plan was for you to join up with them, while I took care of Kou and Chiro, then you'd all be challenged to a four way duel, and I'd send all your souls to the Shadow Realm where he wouldn't have to deal with you." Kamishiro said.

Shisei growled. "We won't lose!" he said. Namia and Ryuko nodded, but Kamishiro just chuckled and drew his card.

"I'll switch my Blindly Loyal Goblin (1800/1500) to attack mode, and summon my Goblin Attack Force (2300/0) in attack mode!" Alongside the now standing brown goblin appeared three more goblins with clubs and axes at the ready. "Then I'll activate Dust Tornado on Shisei's last defense." he declared.

"NO! My Mirror Force!" Shisei groaned and realized what this meant. 'This is going to hurt…a lot."' he thought to himself.

"And now I get to set a card of my own. I choose this one!" he slid one of his last two cards into the slot and smirked. "Now comes the best part. Attack my Goblins!" All four of the warrior goblins charged in and stabbed, cut, and bashed Shisei, who screamed in pain as his blood splattered. "Then, I'll activate Guardian's Gift." the last card in his hand, one he used against Kou and Chiro, appeared and he drew two cards. "Now I get to draw two card now and during every draw phase. End turn." Kamishiro pointed to Shisei, who was breathing hard. "Make your last move boy." he declared menacingly.

Kamishiro-8000

Namia-8000

Ryuko-8000

Shisei-2900

Shisei drew and looked his hand over. 'All magic cards… I lost."' he thought to himself.

"Shisei, don't worry, I didn't protect you for a reason." Namia whispered to him. Shisei suddenly realized what she meant.

'She needs to sacrifice her monster!"' he felt giddy again, but fell to his knee before he could smile fully. "I'll set one card and end my turn." he turned to Namia, hoping she was ready for Kamishiro and his deck.

"I'll start by sacrificing my monster," she pointed to the Thing in the Crater (1000/1200). "and Ryuko's monster, for the Phoenix of Black Fire (2500/2500)!" both of their monsters disappeared in a flash of black light, and the black feathered Phoenix appeared, growling with anger. "Then I'll use the effect of my thing in the crater to bring forth the Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi (2800/2900) in attack mode!" A dark skinned man with flaming fists appeared and jabbed at the air, ready for a fight. "Now I'll sacrifice my Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi (2800/2900) to increase the attack of my Black Fire Phoenix (5300/5400) by its attack for one turn!" she declared. "Now, attack my Phoenix, Soul of Demon Fire!" the Phoenix did as commanded and blew the opposing duelist's field with an intense heat, that burned the Loyal Goblin (1800/1500) to smithereens.

Kamishiro-3500

Namia-8000

Ryuko-8000

Shisei-2900

Kamishiro shrugged, not seeming to notice his cloak had caught black fire. "Still relying on your Phoenixes I see, well this duel is going to permanently remove them from our midst!" he said with even more malice than before, if that was possible. "None of you will escape the Shadow Realm this time!" he finished.

"I'll end my turn, so go, Ryuko!" Namia said, not intimidated in the least. Ryuko nodded and drew.

"I'll set this monster and end my turn." Ryuko said. Namia wiped a bit of sweat from her brow. If Kamishiro got a good draw, which he most likely would, considering he could draw two cards, then he'd probably be able to take Shisei out. 'Oh well, he lowered his LP considerably by playing his Guardian's Gift Magic card."' she remembered with satisfaction.

"Now for my turn, I'll draw two cards first." he slid two cards from his deck and looked at them. "I'm feeling greedy, so I'll activate, Pot of Greed!" he slid one of his drawn cards into the disk and ignored the LP damage.

Kamishiro-2500

Namia-8000

Ryuko-8000

Shisei-2900

He slid the two more cards from his deck and looked his new five cards over. "I'll now activate Spell Economics, so I don't pay any LP for my cards!" he declared, though now his LP were in the danger zone.

Kamishiro-1500

Namia-8000

Ryuko-8000

Shisei-2900

"Finally, I'll set this monster in defense mode." he smiled and motioned for Shisei to go.

"I'll draw!" Shisei informed the field. "Then I'll lay this card facedown, Namia." he turned to her as she drew.

"I'll start by summoning my Flame Ruler (1500/1600) in attack mode!" Namia's new monster, a zombie like man with blue hair, appeared and cackled in a ball of fire. "Then it will attack and destroy your Goblin Attack Force (2300/0)!" the zombie threw fire at the goblins, engulfing them all and destroying it. "Finally, my Phoenix (2500/2500) will attack your facedown monster!" the Black bird swooped down and menacingly pecked at the card. Suddenly, a great black hole replaced the space where the monster was, it was coming from a metallic pickle jar…

"NO! Not Cyber Jar!" Shsei moaned as Namia slid her monster cards off the disk sadly, and drew five, as did Ryuko and Shisei.

"HA!" Kamishiro laughed heartily. This didn't make the three feel any better about their predicament though. Then he showed them the cards he had drawn, none of them seemed to much trouble. "I'll now summon or set all of the cards I drew!" three cards appeared in a horizontal, or defense, position on his field. "Then I'll summon Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500) and Cliff the Trap Remover (1200/1000) in attack mode!" A young looking thief with a staggering position and brown hair appeared. Alongside him was a soldier with devilish horns and a brown cape.

Namia looked her cards over and showed them to her opponent, she then took two cards and slid them into her disk. "I'll summon Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000) and Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000), get ready for the burn!" she stated.

Ryuko flashed his cards and glared at Kamishiro. "You were planning this from the beginning, for your disrespect of me and my friends, you deserve my best!" he declared. "Now I'll summon Red-Eyes Black Chick (800/500," a cute child like Red eyes that had just hatched, emerged from the card. "and next I sacrifice him for the original Red Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) and my Masked Dragon (1400/1100) in defense modes due to your stupid jar, hope your ready for when its gone!" he finished.

Shisei looked over his hand and flashed his all magic and traps to his opponent. "This is all I got, Namia can now continue." he stated.

"Well now, it looks like this is shaping up to be an interesting duel, eh!" Kamishiro smirked. Fully confident that he would win. The monsters on the fields glared each other down, ready and waiting for attack orders from their master. "An interesting duel indeed." Kamishiro finished muttering.

"I'll attack your Cliff (1200/1000) with my Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000)." her dragon spit a chunk of meteor and blew the young thief to pieces. "End turn, making you lose 1000 LP!" both of her dragons roared and heat dropped Kamishiro's LP.

Kamishiro-200

Namia-8000

Ryuko-8000

Shisei-2900

Ryuko drew. "I pass, make your last move!" he commanded. Kamishiro drew two card.

"What do say we turn up the heat!" he asked them all.

"Just go!" Namia said, sickened that he would use one of her favirote phrases.

"Okay, but what I'm about to show you, is an unstoppable combo, first I activate my two Dian Keto's," his LP score jumped up.

Kamishiro-2200

Namia-8000

Ryuko-8000

Shisei-2900

Shisei raised an eyebrow. "What good will that do?" he asked.

"It will allow me to sacrifice LP to play the same combo that defeated your friend." he said. Namia and Shisei gasped. Ryuko gulped. "SAY GOODBYE!" Kamishiro commanded, evil laughter surrounding them as he slid two cards into his disk…

Next time: The same combo that defeated Kou arrives (take a guess what it is). Just when it seemed the three had the upper hand too! Namia and Ryuko's parts have been played, after they lose their last defenses and the Solar Flare Dragons. Now Shisei must use all the magic and traps he can to finish the duel with a win. But why doesn't Kamishiro seem worried about losing his ten turn defeat? What other mysterious creatures lurk in his deck? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

* * *

To Rex: Thanks for that tip, I was trying to figure out how to separate the stuff forever, the little star things wouldn't appear when I uploaded them, so I used the XO's. But now I know how. Oh and if you saw, I meant to make him use the effect of Red eyes B. Chick to sacrifice first, I just forgot, sorry.

To darksoulki: I thank you for regarding my work in such a manner, and I hope you update your fic soon!


	32. Of Countdowns and Dragons

Disclaimer: Take a guess whether I own Yugioh. If you guess right, I'll give you a headache! 

_Chapter 32: Of Countdowns and Dragons_

"I first rid my magic and trap field of Curse of Darkness and Spell Economics." he stated, removing the cards and sliding them into his graveyard. "This unfortunately means I now pay for my Magic card's effect, but it's well worth it!" he stated as his LP score dropped.

Kamishiro-200

Namia-8000

Ryuko-8000

Shisei-2900

'Why would he get rid of a combo that could destroy me?" Shisei wondered what this new combo could be that he'd risk losing. 'Another of his cards must be something he's anxious to play."'

"I play, Final Countdown!" Kamishiro roared, as 20 familiar stone pillars erupted from the ground.

"OH NO!" Shisei yelled suddenly, making Namia and Ryuko jump.

"What is it Sei!" Namia asked, still a bit shell shocked. "What does that card do?" she finished her question as Shisei gulped nervously.

"Ah, Shisei you must know the effect of my special card!" Kamishiro began menacingly. "You see kiddos, my Final Countdown states that I win the duel automatically if no winner is declared within twenty turns of it's activation!" Kamishiro smirked.

Namia gasped again. "What! That's not fair!" she exclaimed. Kamishiro only tossed back his head in laughter as Ryuko growled.

"You cheat! That card is way to strong!" Ryuko yelled as well.

Shisei was watching the last two spaces for magic/trap cards on his opponent' field in more worry than the card just played. 'This doesn't make any sense, he's playing like he has something else he needs to get to, not like he wants to win with the strategies so far…"' Shisei thought.

"Oh, and I'll also activate Time Zone Shift, to make every turn count as two!" Kamishiro finished menacingly. The shifting and turning of the shadows in the shadow realm suddenly sped up and happened twice as fast as before.

"Oh no, Sei, any bright ideas!" Namia turned to Shisei, who was still in his own little world. "Sei… SHISEI!" she yelled. Shisei turned to her in the shadows.

"Huh, what?" he asked, alarmed.

"Any ideas?" she asked again. Shisei looked over his hand cards, which were about nine now, and smirked.

"More than a few!" the magic and trap duelist was once more, ready to duel.

"I now activate Fissure, and destroy the weakest monster on Namia's field!" Solar Flare Dragon roared in protest as it fell into a dark hole underground. "Now, Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500) will attack your last dragon!" the horned warrior jumped forward and cut the dragon to cold cuts. "Finally, I'll set this card in my last magic or trap slot." Kamishiro set the card and it appeared next to Guardian's Gift, Dragon Capture Jar, Time Zone Shift, and Final Countdown. "End turn." he stated.

Kamishiro-200

Namia-7600

Ryuko-8000

Shisei-2900

Shisei drew. "Alright, I'll now set two cards facedown and end my turn!" Shisei stated with a new faith in himself and his deck. 'We can win now that were not so restricted!" Shisei thought. Two more torches went out, leaving 16 or eight turns left.

"Alright, my move now!" Namia declared, drawing her card. "I'll set this monster in defense mode!" she declared, slamming a card into the disk. Kamishiro chuckled as Ryuko glared and drew.

"You can hold off my dragon as long as you want, but eventually, he'll break free and wreak havoc on your LP!" Ryuko declared forcefully. "For now, though, I end my turn." he growled. Two more of the flaming torches went out, leaving only 12.

"Well now, if it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to obliterate you all now!" Kamishiro started, drawing his card. "I start this turn by sacrificing my Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500) for the mighty Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode!" the cloaked man smirked. A dark, brooding half machine creature soon emerged from his card image and folded it's arms in front of it's master. Shisei bit his lip, having quite a few traps set, this wasn't good for him. "And as my Dragon Capture Jar is now useless, I'll rid the field of it after I attack your Red Eyes (2400/2000) with my Jinzo!" Kamishiro pointed to Ryuko's defensive dragon.

"NO!" Ryuko yelled, not ready in the least for his monster to be destroyed.

"YES, JINZO, BLOW HIS BEAST TO SMITHEREENS!" Kamishiro shouted to the whole of the shadow realm. Jinzo (2400/1500) chuckled and a ball off dark energy formed in his hands. "Cyber Shock Attack." he finished with an evil whisper. The cyber shock blew Ryuko's dragon to scaly pieces.

"You bastard!" the young duelist growled.

"HAHAHA! What's wrong, does the wee little duelist miss his itty bitty dragon!" Kamishiro cruelly responded. "Now I set this card facedown and end my turn, giving you five more turns to stop me from an automatic win!" he tossed back his head again and laughed ruefully at the three's predicament.

"I'll have to wipe that smile off you…er, hood!" Shisei slid the topmost card off of his deck and looked his hand over. 'Damn, still haven't drawn a monster, oh well, this is what I get for making an almost all magic and trap deck."' Shisei thought. "I have to end my turn." he said. He slid one of his seven cards into the graveyard, and let Namia draw.

'Damn it, only four turns left."' Namia thought, drawing. She looked over her hand and sighed, sliding a card into the disk. "I set this monster facedown, and end my turn." Yet another set card appeared on the field in front of Namia. The darkness of the shadow realm, which had been momentarily overcome by light from Kamishiro's torches, was slowly returning as the last four torches shimmered alone around the field.

"I'm going to get rid of your auto win combo." Ryuko stated simply. Kamishiro didn't make it apparent that he had heard or cared. Ryuko felt the pressure and the heat on him about destroying the combo, but he only knew one card that could help him… He drew.

'Come on Ryuko, don't let us down!"' Shisei thought, realizing exactly how much this next move counted. 'I know you can do it."' he felt as though he was actually talking to the other boy, though they weren't.

Ryuko looked up at Kamishiro, directly into his eye, and smirked. "I activate Stamping Destruction, which will destroy a magic or trap card, and make the owner take 500 points of direct damage!" he smirked as a raging dragon roared, landing on the field with a crash, and stomped Kamishiro's Final Countdown card.

Kamishiro-7700

Namia-7600

Ryuko-8000

Shisei-2900

"WHAT!" All three of the duelists opposing Kamishiro looked at his LP score in shock.

"How did you survive Ryuko's last attack?" Namia asked.

"Why do you have almost as many LP as you started with!" Shisei continued to inquire.

"Simple, I activated a quick play magic card, Times Blessings." The three suddenly noticed the card he was talking about. It had an hourglass that was glowing green and spinning very fast. "This card restores my LP by 500x the number of turns it's been set on the field, the only downside is, all cards on my field are destroyed." he finished, though he didn't sound upset at all as his cards were blown to pieces.

Ryuko growled at how his opponent managed to avoid such an imminent defeat. "Okay, I'll just attack you with Masked Dragon (1400/1100)!" the oddly shaped dragon danced over and bit into it's opponent's neck.

Kamishiro-6300

Namia-7600

Ryuko-8000

Shisei-2900

"Foolish little boy, now it's my move!" Kamishiro slid the top card off of his disk. "I play the Card of Sanctity magic card, now we each gather six cards." Kamishiro slid the proper amount of cards off of his disk and smirked. "Alright, I'll summon Dunames the Dark Witch (1800/1150) in attack mode!" Kamishiro stated. A beautiful female angel in a glowing gold tunic appeared with a lively smile. "Now my Dunames (1800/1150) blow the boy's Masked Dragon (1400/1100) to pieces." the witch obliged and blasted golden light at the cowering dragon.

Kamishiro-6300

Namia-7600

Ryuko-7600

Shisei-2900

"Fine by me, when Masked Dragon is destroyed in battle," Ryuko picked up his deck from the slot in his disk and began to thumb through it. "I can bring out a dragon with less than or equal to 1500 attack points, I choose Divine Dragon Ragnarok (1500/1000) in attack mode!" the brown haired boy smirked as his monster appeared with a look of pure power on it's long face. He reinserted his deck and folded his arms.

"I'll then set one card facedown and end my turn." Kamishiro said, emotionless once more.

Shisei drew, anxious to win the match for his friends and him. "I start by activating my fissure magic card, say goodbye your Dunames!" Dunames blinked at the threat before finding herself being dragged underground by a red glistening hand. Kamishiro waved goodbye as she vanished, earning raised eyebrows from the others. " Then I'll set this card and end my turn." Shisei finished.

Namia looked over at Shisei in wonder. 'Why didn't he play Fissure on Jinzo, that would have made more sense…"' Namia thought. Then she slid her next card off of the disk and got ready to show her stuff. "I'll flip summon my Fushi No Tori (1200/0) and my Robotic Knight (1600/1800)," a flaming bird and a glowing mechanical soldier appeared on Namia's field. "Next comes Molten Destruction, which gives my monsters a power boost of 500!" Robotic Knight (2100/1400) slashed a now flaming blade, and the flaming bird, Fushi No Tori (1700/0) burned brighter. "Now my beasts will attack!" both of the monsters charged as Kamishiro flipped a facedown card.

"Activate Negate Attack, to stop your assault." Kamishiro stated, almost boredly. "Done yet!" he asked.

Namia glared at him and slid two cards into her disk. "Not by a long shot, I set two cards facedown and my Fushi No Tori returns to my hand, being a spirit monster. Show him Ryuko!" Namia finished, removing the flaming bird and looking to Ryuko for the next move.

Ryuko drew and looked his hand over. "Okay, I start with Polymerization, and fuse Divine Dragon Ragnarok (1500/1200) with Lord of Dragons (1100/1200) from my hand to form…" the newly appeared sorcerer began to glow as the Dragon did the same. Soon the glow faded and the two were one huge and oddly shaped dragon. "King Dragun (2400/1200) in attack mode!" Ryuko cheered, sliding another card into his disk. "Now, feast your eyes on the true king of all dragons, say hello to, Blue Eyes Omega Dragon (3500/3000)!" Ryuko's strongest and favorite beast appeared, rearing it's head back and giving signs of hostility that no one could mistake.

"You fell for my bluff, activate, False Hope!" Kamishiro stated, a card with a picture involving a coin flipping and a glowing monster appeared. "Now here's how it works, your newest Special summoned monster goes back to your hand," Kamishiro began.

"Who cares, I'll just special summon it again on my next turn!" Ryuko declared proudly.

"If this works then there won't be next turn for any of you." Kamishiro stated. "Now we flip a coin!" a giant Japanese coin appeared and began to revolve. "I call heads!" Kamishiro stated as the coin flipped. A few very intense moments later, the coin landed with a thump on heads. Kamishiro laughed and took his deck from the deck slot. "Now you discard your monster that was returned, and I get to special summon a monster from my deck with that many stars or less!" he finished.

"No." Ryuko said faintly, not able to believe he had lost his best monster before it could even attack.

"Yes, and now, behold one of the most deadly creatures you'll ever see… ANGEL OF DARK REBIRTH (2400/0) in attack mode!" Kamishiro shouted to the three duelists. Slowly, the ground rumbled and chunks of shadow shifted to shape into something. Wings emerged from the large clumps, black wings, followed by hands and legs of a glowing and evilly smiling woman. She had half a decaying body, and half a pale and sickly one. Kamishiro's laughter rang out to the entire room as his newest "angel" made it's way onto the field. "This is the Endgame, my friends, the last turn is here!" he stated. And this time, Shisei, Namia, and Ryuko couldn't help but believe he was right.

* * *

Next time: The final turn is fast approaching, and after lots of mistakes, wishes and revivals, the winner(s) of this exiting duel is going to be decided. But just what is so special about a 2400 attack point monster? Can Shisei with his sly ways and the Dark Magician's help overcome it? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

To Rex: I meant to make him use the effect of Red eyes B. Chick to sacrifice first, I just forgot, sorry, but I did correct that little error.

To John: Economics says you don't pay to activate magic cards, whether the card itself makes you pay or another card, like Curse of Darkness.

A/N: Well, I'm back and I hope I'm here to stay, I got a little depressed about my math grade, but I'm back up, running and ready to write! Well thank everyone for being patient (or at least pretending to be) and I'll try to update soon.


	33. A Dark Angel Walks

_Chapter 33: A Dark Angel Walks_

Shisei felt fear consume him as he looked into the into the skeletal features of the half decaying, half sickening "Angel" before him and his friends. 'That thing doesn't have a lot of attack power, but it still gives me the creeps."' Shisei thought to himself. He knew, though, that Namia, himself, and Ryuko had to have faith in their cause and their cards to win.

"Are you ready to be banished to the cold darkness of the Shadow Realm forever!" asked Kamishiro, as though he thought the answer was going to be defiant. He was right.

"Bring on the pain, my dragons will endure and overcome it!" Ryuko looked at his dragon with the utmost faith in them and stood ready to defeat the white cloaked man. 'I didn't know Kouichi Nandao, but his death wasn't a righteous and honorable one, therefore, I shall avenge it!"' Ryuko glared daggers at Kamishiro as he thought this valiantly to himself.

"Ah, but every serpent has a weakness, and your bigger lizards will crumble under the divine wrath of one sent from heaven!" Kamishiro stated, pointing to his Angel.

"That thing is going to burn in hell." Namia interjected Kamishiro. "Of course, it will first burn in the mighty flames of my monsters!" she added with her usual fiery attitude. 'Kou, I will get you back, any way possible!"' she thought.

"Your flames will destroy my angel, but it will only return, greater than the strongest of strong creatures!" Kamishiro replied to this.

"Kamishiro," Shisei began quietly. "The Dark Magician is at home in this place, and on my next turn, he'll appear with his friends to avenge the death of Kou. Dark Rebirth is going to fall to Dark Magic!" Shisei yelled. 'Kou, you better make this worth it, cause I don't think we'll get a second chance at saving your soul!'" Shisei thought with vigor.

"Magic pales in comparison to the Dark abilities my Angel will unleash on you three foolish mortals!" Kamishiro snickered finally to Shisei, then he rounded on Ryuko. "Now finish your move, so my Angel may demolish one of you." he stated, looking at the LP count with a smile.

"Alright, let's end it here!" Ryuko slid a card into his disk. "I set this last card facedown, now go!" the young boy finished, his set card appearing in the familiar position, brown back and all.

Kamishiro slid the top card off of his deck. "Ah, beautiful!" he slid one card into his disk. "I set one card facedown, and play Spell Reproduction!" he slid one of his last three cards into his disk and slid the other two into the graveyard slot. "This allows me to reuse Card of Sanctity at the cost of two spell cards!" he took the declared card back and activated it, slipping six cards of his dwindling deck and looking them over.

"Fine by me!" Shisei yelled to his opponent, drawing a meager one card.

"The more the merrier!" Namia agreed, sliding the proper amount off her own deck. Ryuko also nodded in agreement as Kamishiro began to finish his turn.

"Now to bring Shisei's life to a close, attack him directly my Angel of Dark Rebirth (2400/0)!" Kamishiro commanded. Shisei smirked.

"I activate Time Released Magic Duplicator!" Shisei interjected, as the Angel flew toward him and his set cards.

"WHAT!" Namia and Ryuko asked. Watching the field for some sort of change, they blinked in surprise as they saw the ground open beneath the Angel of Dark Rebirth (2400/0) and suck her into it with the help of a glistening red hand.

"It allows me to activate a magic card I used on my last turn as a trap card, at the cost of 1000 LP!" Shisei stated with more triumph than before. "Why do you think I waited after Jinzo was gone to play Fissure, I had this baby in my hand and couldn't set it, so I knew you would summon an even stronger monster for me to obliterate later! Patience is a virtue!" the blond snickered.

Kamishiro-6300

Namia-7600

Ryuko-7600

Shisei-1900

Kamishiro only shrugged as his field was almost completely emptied. "Fine, I'll end my turn with that." Kamishiro stated.

Shisei drew and smirked at the card. "Here it comes, I activate Dark Magic Curtain, to bring the Dark Magician from my deck to my field!" Shisei yelled through the dark shadows. The Dark Magician (2500/2100) burst forth from the darkness of the realm and stood ready in front of Shisei, who didn't seem to notice his reopening wound due to paying so many LP.

Kamishiro-6300

Namia-7600

Ryuko-7600

Shisei-850

"Now I sacrifice my mighty Magician, for the Dark Magician Girl (2300/1700), in attack mode!" his stronger male mage disappeared and a winking female version appeared before them all. "But I'm nowhere near done, I now activate Call of the haunted to resurrect the Dark Magician (2500/2100)." he continued. The former purple robed mage appeared before the female, who blushed, but stood strong and ready.

"These random moves won't help you… Because I have the perfect protection from your attacks." Kamishiro stated, yawning.

"And what is that!" Shisei glared at him for being interrupted.

"A stronger monster." Kamishiro stated, sliding a card from his hand into the graveyard. Suddenly the Angel of Dark Rebirth (2900/0) burst from the ground with a look of happiness at being revived on her ancient face. "You see, like Vampire Lord, my monster revives after effects destroy her, only she revives with 500 extra attack points at the cost of a card from my hand!" Kamishiro was plainly happy over his fooling them, but Shisei wasn't done yet.

"I'll just have to blow your "stronger" monster to pieces then, won't I!" asked Shisei, slipping another card into his disk. "I now play Knight's Title, to change the Dark Magician (2500/2100) to the Dark Magician Knight (2500/2100)!" Shisei's mage was suddenly slashing a large green blade testily and glaring at it's opponent, the Angel of Dark Rebirth. "Finally, Monster Reborn to revive the Dark Magician that was sacrificed!" The purple robed mage appeared alongside his female companion, the Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) and older version, Dark Magician Knight (2500/2100). Just as it looked like Shisei had finished, the Knight spotted the Angel of Dark Rebirth (2900/0) and, anxious to test it's new sword, lunged and cut her in half.

"Ah, yes, your knight's ability allows it to destroy one monster when successfully special summoned, I almost forgot." Kamishiro stated mildly. Shisei was shocked that Kamishiro didn't care he had obviously lost.

'He must be relying on his facedown card."' Shisei thought. 'Oh well, I can't risk a bluff, and Namia and Ryuko will be able to back me up if I lose my monsters."' he reassured himself. "Okay, I attack your LP directly, first with the Dark Magician Knight (2500/2100)!" shouted Shisei. His Knight jumped forth, but was met with a wall of furry fiends.

"I discard Kuriboh to decrease the attack of your monster to zero for this turn." Kamishiro stated with disinterest.

"Fine, but my other monsters will still attack, go Double Dark Magic Attack!" Both of his mages twirled their staffs and blasted their power at Kamishiro.

Kamishiro-1800

Namia-7600

Ryuko-7600

Shisei-850

"I end my turn there." Shisei finished. Namia felt giddy with relief.

'Almost got him beat!"' the fire duelist thought, drawing. "I start-" she was cut off as the Angel of Dark Rebirth (3400/0) revived with another discarded card from Kamishiro. Namia glared at the disgruntled Angel. "I'll start with my own Monster Reborn to revive my Flame Ruler (1500/1600)!" An odd zombie reappeared on her field. "Then I sacrifice Flame Ruler, which counts as two tributes for a fire beast, and my Robotic Knight to summon Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500) in attack mode!" shouted Namia with elegance, as she knew they had won.

"Not so fast, I play Horn of Heaven to negate the summoning of your bird by sacrificing my own monster!" Kamishiro's angelic being suddenly screeched as it and the Phoenix of Gold Fire were blown apart by thunder.

Namia looked at her last hopes and glared. "I set one card and end my turn!" she finished, not letting despair claim her.

'It's up to me now!"' Ryuko thought to himself, sliding the top card off of his deck. Kamishiro also discarded a card and revived his Angel (3900/0) at that moment. "I'll show you! I use my King Dragun (2400/1200) to special summon Hyozanryu (2100/2800) in attack mode." Ryuko stated, wiping sweat from his brow. "Then I equip my Diamond dragon with Mage Power, giving it 500 extra attack points for every magic and trap I have." the Diamond Dragon that appeared before the young boy roared ferociously at it's opponent (3100/3800). "Then I set one card. End turn." Ryuko finished his turn, as his Hyozanryu (3600/4300) grew even stronger.

"Finally, my turn!" Kamishiro drew enthusiastically. "Now I start by activating my Angel Wing Diffusion magic card, which allows one Angel with an original attack of less than 2500 to attack all monsters on an opponent's field at once!" his Dark Angel (3900/0) glittered with power and looked at Shisei's field. "Now I shall attack Shisei's monsters!" Kamishiro finished menacingly. Ryuko and Namia were fully expecting Shisei to pull some Yugi-like stunt and save himself at the last minute. But nothing like this happened.

"AHHHH!" Shisei would have screamed much louder and longer than he did, but his soul was blasted out of his body before he could think to do something as simple as that. The attack from the Angel was a glittering array of black feathers which cut the head off of all of Shisei's monsters.

Kamishiro-1800

Namia-7600

Ryuko-7600

Shisei-0

Namia looked at the now vacant darkness where Shisei once stood. "Sei! SEI!" she screamed into the twirling darkness. Kamishiro smiled as she fell to her knees. 'He's gone, he's really gone."' she realized.

"Namia, we can't lose." Ryuko said quietly. Namia looked over at the younger boy, she could tell he was trying not to cry.

"Right." she agreed, standing up with fire in her eyes.

"Still have some fight left in you, eh? Fine, I'll take you down fighting!" Kamishiro informed the other two. "Now my Angel's second ability will activate, it revives any Dark or Light monster that is destroyed in battle by it!" Kamishiro laughed as all of Shisei's Dark Magicians appeared, holding their staffs/blade in front of them. "Unfortunately, they will be in defense mode, but I can still activate Star Draw, and tribute my Angel of Dark Rebirth (3900/0) for nine cards!" Kamishiro stated as his angel burst into nine card images and he drew one for each. "I then set these four cards and activate The Sanctuary in the Sky and finally, end my turn!" Kamishiro finished happily.

"I draw!" Namia stated, watching as the Angel of Dark Rebirth (4400/0) was revived with another hand card. "Then I set this monster in defense mode. End turn." Namia finished, sadly able to come up with nothing that could defeat her opponent.

Ryuko drew. "I start with another two cards facedown, increasing my Hyozanryu (4600/5300) to above your monster. Now Hyozanryu, attack his monster!" Ryuko commanded, apparently confident in his three facedown cards as Kamishiro would no doubt revive his monster next turn.

"I activate Pyramid Energy, to increase my Angel of Dark Rebirth's (4700/0) attack by 300 for one turn!" his angel laughed mockingly as the diamond dragon unleashed a flurry of magical diamonds from itself. Just as they approached their target, the angel blew them back in an ugly kiss.

"Not so fast, I play Burst Breath, and use it to tribute my King Dragun and destroy all monsters on the field with less defense points than it's attack!" Ryuko smirked as the Angel was blown apart by the charging King Dragun (2400/1200) which was on fire. Then the Dark Magicians burst into flames. The attack was back to speeding towards Kamishiro until he flipped a card.

"I'll activate my Raigeki Break and dis-" he was cut off as Ryuko flipped another card.

"I play the Dragon's Bead and negate Raigeki Break and it's effect!" Ryuko stated, though he was worried now, he had only one card to protect him now. 'Come on!"' he thought. "Now finish your attack my beast, don't let him win!" Ryuko finally declared.

"Pathetic, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon on your Dragon's Bead and then Mirror Force!" his cards flipped and Ryuko activated his last facedown card.

"I play Dragon Crash, which will deal me 1000 damage in return for negating an effect!" Ryuko's last set card, a quick play magic card, disappeared and Kamishiro flipped his last card (he activate Mystical Space Typhoon from his hand).

"I activate Judgment of Anubis, which will destroy a card that negates spell and traps and then blow a monster on your field away!" Kamishiro responded, as a large Egyptian artifact glowed and blew Hyozanryu (2600/3300) apart. "To add insult to injury, you lose the attack of the monster I destroyed in LP! Such a great card, and all I do to play it is send a card to the grave!" Kamishiro laughed as Ryuko was left with nothing to defend himself.

Ryuko turned to Namia with a dreamy expression on his face. "Namia, please don't lose." he said, then collapsed coughing up blood from LP loss.

Kamishiro-1800

Namia-7600

Ryuko-5000

Shisei-0

Kamishiro smirked and drew, discarding a card from his hand and summoning his Angel of Dark Rebirth (4900/0). "By the way, the card I just discarded was Sinister Serpent, So it will always return to me!" Kamishiro stated, bringing another monster to the field. "Now Avatar of the Pot (1200/1300) will come forth in attack mode. Then I discard Pot of Greed and use it's ability to take three cards from my deck!" Kamishiro slid three cards off his deck and smirked. "Card of Demise let's me draw five." he continued.

"Just finish already!" Namia commanded. She knew it was pointless to argue with fate, but she also knew that Ryuko could win if he only attacked with one of his monsters.

"Fine, I'll activate Call of the Haunted, Monster Reborn, and Premature Burial to revive all three Dark Magician Monsters!" the army of dark magicians rose again as Kamishiro lost some LP.

Kamishiro-800

Namia-7600

Ryuko-5000

Shisei-0

"Now I activate Black Soul Sword, get ready, because now my Angel had the perfect weapon!" A sword made of some pure black metal appeared, skulls imbedded in it's hilt. "First, I tribute up to three dark monsters to the sword, and then it equips and increases the attack of the Demon that it is attached to. So I tribute my Dark Magicians, and their power adds a total of 7000 to my Angel of Dark Rebirth (11900/0)." Kamishiro looked at the field, rubbing his hand's together anxiously. The black blade suddenly slashed the Dark Magicians into cold cuts and absorbed their pieces. "I think it's time I attacked, I blow Ryuko away now!" the angel, who was plain out pissed at being destroyed so many times, slashed the hell out of Ryuko and his soul flew away. "My Avatar (1200/1300) will then attack Namia's monster." he finished, blowing Namia's last defense apart. "I set my last card." he finished.

Kamishiro-800

Namia-7600

Ryuko-0

Shisei-0

"No, Ryuko." Namia felt her body go numb, not noticing anything but how alone she was against the madman across from her. 'He stole their soul. It's not fake, it's not a game, if we lose, we don't live anymore."' she thought. Then, suddenly, something snapped. All of the anger she had held up, the anger of losing Kou, Shisei, and now Ryuko, exploded and she didn't wait for an end turn.

"Ah, looks like this is our last turn. Make it count!" Kamishiro laughed at Namia, who ignored it and drew.

"I start with my own Card of Sanctity!" Namia slid her card into the disk. "Now I also play my facedown card, Soul Release, and remove my Phoenixes from play." she stated this, but didn't bother to put them away as they ejected from her graveyard slot. "Now I also play Return From the Different Dimension, pay half my LP, and bring my Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500) back to this plane!" he LP decreased and the Golden Phoenix appeared, looking extremely disgruntled.

Kamishiro-400

Namia-3800

Ryuko-0

Shisei-0

"Not so fast, I activate Angelic Safeguard, which will negate the ability of one monster by paying half my LP, nice try!" Kamishiro laughed once more, but Namia's stone face only glared at him as she played another card.

"I have many more ways of defeating you, and I'll prove it by playing Twin Swords of Flashing Light-Tryce, on my Phoenix (3000/3500) which allows it to attack twice at the cost of a hand card and 500 attack points." Namia slid another card after blades lined the wings of the Golden bird. "Now it ends, I play Riryouki and drain your monster of half it's attack power and add it to mine instead!" Namia looked at the lower power of the Angel (5950/0) and the much higher power of her own Phoenix (8950/3000). "Phoenix, attack and destroy his monster!" Namia declared. The Phoenix blew golden feathers at the Angel and it burned to a crisp.

"Bravo, but I take no damage, thanks to my previously activated Sanctuary in the Sky field!" Kamishiro snickered.

"Yeah, but that's why I get a second attack." Namia said menacingly.

"That's where the second ability of my Black Soul Sword comes into play." Kamishiro told the blond female.

Namia had a bad feeling about this as the shadows started to reform… "Now all the monster I sacrificed to power up my weapon of destruction return!" all of Shisei's monsters reappeared and Namia felt the loss deep within herself.

'I only get one more attack… His monsters are defending… Phoenix is removed again after the turn ends… He has three chances at a direct attack… Sorry Shisei, Ryuko, Kou… I lost."' Namia pressed the end turn button, her head bowed.

"Finally, now that you understand you never stood a chance, I'll activate the special ability of my Angel (5400/0) and revive it." Kamishiro's ever-returning winged creature appeared, looking downright pissed at him and Namia. "Finish it my Angel, directly attack that foolish woman!" Kamishiro shouted one last time.

Kamishiro-400

Namia-0

Ryuko-0

Shisei-0

Kamishiro smirked as Namia's soulless body fell into the shadows. The shadow game, however, didn't disappear. Kamishiro frowned at the remaining shadows. "What's going on?" he asked to no one. However, someone answered.

"This Shadow Game isn't over yet. Now how about you duel someone that's worth a challenge?" a voice said from the shadows. Kamishiro turned sharply, and his jaw dropped at who saw.

_To be continued_

* * *

Next time: Dueling in the midst of shadows isn't a problem for Kamishiro, but dueling in a light realm will definitely be a problem. With the stakes for the next duel, Kamishiro vs. , set it's up to the mysterious challenger to save the souls of Namia, Ryuko, and Shisei. Will they win? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

To MYHI: I did create the Phoenix cards, and as you've probably noticed, lots of others.

To John: If that's not kickass, I don't know what is!

A/N: I know Angel of Dark Rebirth seemed a little too strong, but really it was used in a deck meant for it, and there is a card that revives without tribute in K.B. Aleo's old story.


	34. Oracle's Promise

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! But I do own this version of the Holy Realm, so don't steal it. 

_Chapter 34: Oracle's Promise_

Kamishiro growled as he realized who it was that was challenging him. There was no mistaking that white robe. "Oracle, fancy meeting you here." Kamishiro stated with a wide smile. He had already taken the souls she would have been trying to protect by appearing at this place. "Your to late to save these three. And Mr. Kouichi has long since departed from this realm, just as Osmos planned." he finished maliciously.

Oracle stepped over the bodies of Shisei, Namia, and Ryuko. She then looked around the Shadow Realm without interest. "I didn't come to save Mr. Nandao. He shall remain in the shadows. But, I promise you I will save the souls of these three." Oracle stated in her hoarse whisper, obviously readying for a duel.

Kamishiro looked at her as though she was crazy. "You seriously think I'm willing to bet my soul on another duel? You wish, I have no reason to except this pathetic match." he stated.

"Ah, but you do." Oracle said with an unseen smile. Kamishiro looked at her questioningly.

"Why is that?" he asked, not so sure if he wanted to know the answer.

A smile came across Oracle's lips as she removed her hood. Beautiful brown hair flooded out of the hood and rested on her shoulders, amazingly straight. She had gray eyes that were simply mesmerizing. The oddest feature of Oracle was something you couldn't see, however. Her voice, where it once sounded old and wise, now sounded young and chipper. Kamishiro didn't seem shocked by this in the least though. "Oh, sorry, what was I saying!" Oracle asked, her dazzling bright eyes piercing into Kamishiro's.

Kamishiro sighed. "I suppose you want me to strip for you as well?" he asked. Oracle winked and he growled, but nonetheless removed his cloak. Underneath the pure white of Kamishiro's cloak was a somewhat comical figure. Kamishiro wore glasses and his head seemed a little small for his tall and most likely muscular body. He had wavy black hair and his deep voice didn't match with his many freckles.

Oracle covered her mouth so as to stop from snickering. "Looks like you couldn't find a good body, no!" she asked.

"Why you!" Kamishiro glared at her as she burst out laughing. "Just tell me why I would want to duel you already!" he yelled, his somewhat nerdy body projecting his deep voice.

"I'll make you a suitable body if you win." Oracle dropped her chipper tone as she looked at Kamishiro. Kamishiro's eyes widened.

"And if I lose…. You want me to free the souls of these three?" he asked, motioning to Shisei, Namia, and Ryuko.

Oracle nodded and her duel disk folded out. "Are you ready!" she asked.

"For all the marbles? Yes!" Kamishiro readied his own disk, taking the deck he was using and placing another inside in place of it.

Oracle and Kamishiro glared at each other. Then, at the same time, they shouted: "DUEL!"

Kamishiro-8000

Oracle-8000

* * *

Yugi Moto, champion duelist, holder of the millennium puzzle, world's shortest high school student, all of these things and more, stepped through the castle that Osmos called home. He was in the armory at the moment, desperately seeking the answer to many mysterious questions about the silver haired man.

"I just don't under stand it Yami, usually someone tries to take over the world with magic." Yugi told Yami, his darker and extremely powerful alter ego.

"I know Yugi, but this Osmos character definitely uses magic, and it's not exactly the "Help Find the Cure for Cancer" kind." Yami stated. Yugi missed the joke.

"Hey, did you hear that!" asked Yugi. Yami looked around in an astral form of himself.

"I didn't hear anything. Maybe we should go back to our room." Yami replied. He didn't usually get cold feet like this, but he was worried about Joey, Tristan, Anzu, and even the Kaiba Brothers.

"Yeah, let's go." The pair of duelists then left the mysterious area of Osmos's dreary castle behind, not sure what to think at all.

* * *

Oracle had just drawn her five card hand when she looked around the dark and dank atmosphere of the Shadow Realm in disgust. "This place won't due at all!" she exclaimed. She lifted her finger up in a point, as though pointing out a cloud or airplane to a friend. Then the finger, her pointing finger, glowed brightly and the white light that began to emanate from it illuminated the realm until they were floating in bright white light. "That's better. Welcome, Kamishiro, to the realm of light, the Holy Realm!" she stated happily.

Kamishiro wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You can go first, so we can get this duel over with!" Kamishiro stated with more than a little disgust.

Oracle bowed and drew. "I'll start by summoning Thunder Nyan Nyan (1900/800) in attack mode, and I'll set one card facedown, go big boy!" she stated. A cat like woman appeared playing on a drum obnoxiously loud.

Kamishiro growled but drew his card. "I set one monster facedown, as well as a magic or trap card." Kamishiro finished his move and two set cards appeared on his field.

"Good, then I'll go!" Oracle drew her next card and her facedown card flipped. "First I play Mystical Space Typhoon on your set card!" she smirked and Kamishiro growled as his Shadow Spell trap was blown away in a furious tornado.

"I still have my defense monster!" Kamishiro stated.

"Not for long, I discard Thunder Dragon and add two more Thunder Dragons in his place to my hand!" she slid one of her monster cards into the grave, then grabbed two more from her deck. "Next I'll activate Polymerization and fuse my hand monsters to become Twin Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100) in attack mode!" a growling orange scaled beast with two heads appeared, electricity crackling around it.

"Nice, but I'll be able to survive an attack still." Kamishiro said mockingly.

Oracle only slid another of her three cards into the disk. "I can still play Monster Reborn, on one of my previous beasts!" A green beast with differently shaded scales erupted from the ground and glared along with it's fused version at Kamishiro. "Say hello to my first Thunder Dragon (1600/1500). Isn't he cute!" Oracle laughed as Kamishiro growled. "Now I attack your defense monster with my Thunder Dragon (1600/1500)," The Mystical Shine Ball (500/500) that was set on her opponent's field burst into flame after lightning struck it. "Then my other two monsters will direct attack!" Twin Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100) and Thunder Nyan Nyan (1900/800) showered their opponent with light and sound at great intensities.

Kamishiro-3300

Oracle-8000

"Finally, I activate The Sanctuary in The Sky, and normal summon The Agent of Force-Mars (4700/4700) which gains attack and defense values based on your and mine LP difference." Oracle flipped her hair mockingly and Kamishiro glared at her.

"Fine, I draw!" he slid the next card off his disk and smirked. "I'll activate Lightning Vortex, and discard this card to destroy every monster that takes up space on your field!" Kamishiro laughed as one of the clouds that circled overhead all of them blew Oracle's monsters apart with great bolts of yellow lighting.

"NO!" Oracle moaned as she realized she'd wasted her entire hand on that maneuver. She sighed as she saw Kamishiro playing two more cards.

"Now I also summon Dunames the Dark Witch (1800/1150) in attack mode! Then I remove my discarded Mystical Elf and Mystical Shine Ball from play to summon Soul of Purity and Light (2000/1800) in attack mode as well." Now Kamishiro had a nice set of monsters that were all ready to tear into Oracle's LP as soon as they were given the command. "Now that the tables have turned, got any smart comments!" Kamishiro snickered.

"Stop talking about beating me and make an attempt at it. Does that count as a smart comment!" Oracle glowered.

"Why you little!" Kamishiro glared at her impudence in his presence. He raised a finger to point at her. "Now my Dunames (1800/1150) Soul of Purity and Light (2000/1800), attack her LP directly!" Kamishiro demanded of his own light creatures. Oracle didn't even wince as she was hit with twin beams of light, she only drew her next card. "Finally, I set my last card facedown." Kamishiro didn't notice Oracle had already begun to draw, as he was to busy savoring his small triumph.

Kamishiro-3300

Oracle-4200

"I set this card and end my turn." Oracle said without missing a beat.

Kamishiro looked at her almost empty field with shock. 'She didn't play anything. If I draw a monster with 400 attack points or more… I can win with direct attacks!"' Kamishiro felt like jumping up and down. Not only did the body he was stuck in not suit him, it was completely useless for the kind of work he would be doing while working with Osmos. It had hardly any muscle, was extremely bad in the sun, and couldn't take a lot of pressure. "The body you give me better be good Oracle, because I just drew the win!" Kamishiro smirked.

"Good, because now you must discard the win, I activate Drop Off!" a purple bordered card that had a man dropping his newly picked up item appeared on her field. "Discard that card!" Oracle demanded.

Kamishiro did so without seeming angry or worried. "Then I attack you with my other monsters." he smiled as her LP dropped more. "By the way." he began as the score drop finished.

Kamishiro-3300

Oracle-400

Oracle stopped mid draw and looked at him. "What?" she asked.

"What happens when you lose in a realm such as this, one of light?" Kamishiro voiced his concerns.

"Well, really this realm counteracts the abilities of the Shadow Realm, so it can restore souls and release someone from their imprisonment in another realm." Oracle stated.

"Ah, so that's why you brought us here. In case I don't hold up my end of our bargain, this realm will restore the souls of these three if you win automatically." Kamishiro observed. Oracle winked. "It won't help you, you'll lose on my next turn." Kamishiro stated.

"If you think so, then I'll activate Pot of Greed!" she slid two cards from her deck and looked them over. "Then I summon The Light- Hex-Sealed Fusion (1000/1600) in defense mode, and this card will follow facedown." Oracle's field was suddenly occupied by a glowing ball of light energy and a vertical brown back card.

"My move, and your defeat!" Kamishiro drew his next card and a sly smirk curled around his lips. "Now it ends, I discard this card, and revive another one.." he began, sliding his drawn card into his grave and another popped out.

Oracle's eyes went wide. "No, not this soon!" she realized the only monster that he could discard a card to revive and growled as it was her own Drop Off that got it there in the first place.

"That's right, now I summon… Angel of Dark Rebirth (2900/0) get ready to lose!" Kamishiro's very familiar angel erupted from the ground, blocking her eyes from the light with her deformed hand. "Ready for the end!" asked Kamishiro with an evil smirk.

Oracle smiled. "Bring it on!" she commanded, readying her self for the Angel's assault.

* * *

Next time: Kamishiro and Oracle are dueling at intense levels now, but after Oracle gets one of her strongest fusions on the field, it's almost endgame for Kamishiro. Can anything really stop the deadly power of the Angel of Dark Rebirth though? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

To Goddess IANAW: Wolf General is like a god in terms of Fan fiction writing, I do think his fanfic is highly worth taking the time to read. Seeker's fan fiction I'm just starting on, so I can't be sure about it, but there is also G.O.T Nick and Gryphinwyrm7 has a good one going as well.


	35. Angels Galore

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! But I do own this version of the Holy Realm, so don't steal it. 

_Chapter 35: Angels Galore_

Kamishiro's monster was looking severely deadly at the moment, most likely because it had died so many times in the last duel it was used. "Don't worry my Angel (2900/0) I don't plan on letting you fall so much in this duel." Kamishiro reassured his horrible excuse for an angel.

"Your pathetic, you know that!" Oracle growled as she looked at her deck, hoping it would give her the card capable of saving her in this duel. 'Come on deck, let me draw the win!"' she prayed.

"Hoping your pathetic excuse for a deck will be faithful and win you this duel? Nice to wish for, but it'll never happen!" Kamishiro taunted.

"Whatever!" Oracle spat back at him.

"Fine, be stubborn. I just attack your monster anyway!" he commanded. The Angel of Dark Rebirth smiled maliciously and blew a kiss at her Hex Sealed Fusion (1000/1600) as she activated her facedown card.

"Reveal Fairy Box, which forces you to flip coin, if the result is tails, your attack is reduced to zero!" she smirked as a giant coin appeared in the middle of the field. Kamishiro growled as it landed on tails for all of his monsters. "Nice try Kami! I can call you Kami right!" Oracle tossed back her head and laughed as Kamishiro ended his turn.

"Just go you twit!" he declared. 'She just got lucky… SHE WILL NOT WIN!"' he forced himself to say, though he wasn't feeling so confident now that Oracle had the opportunity to turn the duel around.

Oracle drew and looked like she had just been gravely insulted. "How dare you call me a twit! I was just trying to be nice, give you a nickname like I do with everybody." Oracle said innocently to her opponent. "But fine, that's the last time I'm being nice to you!" she finished, sticking her tongue out at him. She looked at the card and smirked. "I activate Replay and reuse Pot of Greed!" she slid two more cards from her deck as Fairy Box exploded due to her being unable to pay the 500 LP needed for it.

Kamishiro-3300

Oracle-200

"Now I also play Graceful Charity!" she slid three cards off of her deck and looked them over before smiling and discarding two. "Next comes Shallow Grave, to return a monster in facedown defense position, you would get to do this also, but you have no monsters in your graveyard!" Kamishiro realized this was true, as he had removed the two in his graveyard from play to Special summon Soul of Purity and Light (2000/1800). "I then set this and end my turn." she said happily. Two more facedown cards appeared and her hand was once again void of cards.

"Fine, I'll end it!" Kamishiro spat while drawing his next card. "I will attack your Hex Sealed Fusion once more!" he declared. The black as night Angel (2900/0) blew another deadly kiss at the glowing orb of light.

"Reveal facedown trap!" Oracle smirked as her declared card flipped. "This is a little something I like to call Magic Arm Shield," an odd looking device, one with a spring and clamps appeared. "this card allows me to use a monster that you have to deflect the blow of your attack!" she stated. The clamps suddenly sprung to life and clutched the Dunames (1800/1150) that Kamishiro controlled.

"No! Dunames!" Kamishiro glared as his one of his angels was blocking the other.

"Now your attack hits your own monster!" Oracle chided. True to her word, the deadly kiss descended upon the field switched Dunames. With a final shriek, the black haired angel faded into oblivion. "One down, two to go!" Oracle snickered at the enraged look on Kamishiro's face.

Kamishiro-2200

Oracle-200

'Damn, she has that card facedown, which means it could have flip effect. Or it could not depending on whether she wants me to attack it or not. If I attack her Hex sealed Fusion then she could draw the card she needs to put her facedown monster in a useful combo."' Kamishiro pondered and weighed his options. "Better stop her from gaining anymore ground."' he finally decided. "I choose to attack your facedown monster with my Soul of Purity and Light (2000/1800)!" the two beings charged forward, the female angelic one powering up the warrior with her light energy.

"You attacked my Different Dimension Dragon (1200/1500)." she smiled and winked in her annoying way as Kamishiro stomped his foot on the steps of the Sanctuary in the Sky field. "Of course, my monster can't be destroyed by another creature if the opposing creature has 1900 attack points or more." she informed the frustrated Kamishiro. "And unfortunately for you… Your monster fit's the bill with 2000 attack points!" she laughed as Kamishiro tapped the end turn button on his disk.

"Make a move wench, and it better be a good one, because I still hold the upper hand in this duel!" Kamishiro demanded, now more than a little annoyed at the fact that he'd been foiled so much.

"Then here comes the hurt!" Oracle drew and smiled. "I now activate Reasoning!" she declared.

"And that does?" asked Kamishiro.

"Pick a monster level first." she declared.

"Fine, seven!" he said, not missing a beat.

"Now I draw until I come to a monster, then the monster I draw will be special summoned if it is of a level you didn't select, but I don't get to special summon it if it is of the level you selected." Oracle stated, sliding a card off of her deck. Then after no monster, she drew again, and again, until she carme to a monster and smirked. "Now I special summon Sacred Crane (1600/400) in defense mode!" she smirked as a level four monster, a bird with glowing white feathers, appeared before her. "When special summoned, I draw a card!" she smirked and slid a card from her deck. "Now I play my drawn card, Reckless Greed!" she slid two more cards from her deck. "This, first of all lets me draw two cards, but I skip my next two draw phases!" she looked her two cards over and smirked. "Now for some fun, I sacrifice Sacred Crane for Marie the Fallen One (1700/1200)!" a new monster, this one with dark skin and a black mask on appeared.

"That will help you… how?" questioned Kamishiro. Oracle smirked and took two of her monsters from the disk to place another on.

"This is how, I use Hex-the Light Sealed Fusion (1000/1600) to sacrifice it and Marie the Fallen one and summon Saint Joan (2800/2000) from my deck!" A new lady, one with a peaceful expression and blond hair as well as silver armor appeared. "She will receive Cestus of Dagla as an equipment card, to raise her attack by 500 points!" Joan (3300/2000) grabbed two glowing gold daggers from the air and glared at Kamishiro and his monsters. "Finally, I'll use Saint Joan (3000/2000) to blow away your Soul of Purity and Light (2000/1800)!" her monster, though it had lost 300 attack points due to Soul of Purity and Light's effect, charged forward and bravely slashed the male and female figures apart. Oracle never stopped smiling through her move. "Don't forget I get a LP boost because Cestus of Dagla increases my LP by the amount you lost if the monster equipped with it inflicts battle damage." she said in a sing-song voice. "End turn." she ended.

Kamishiro-1200

Oracle-1500

Kamishiro didn't understand how it was possible that Oracle had turned the tables on him so fast. 'Damnit, she keeps taking down my LP!"' he thought, growling again. "This will stop!" he declared. Oracle yawned. "I start by summoning Avatar of the Pot (1200/1300) in defense mode!" A smiling and very happy man appeared on his field. "Then I discard this Pot of Greed from my hand and draw three cards instead of 2 like if I had normally played it!" Kamishiro continued, Oracle didn't seem interested however.

"You're not going to win." she stated, as though that settled the matter.

"That's what you think. I now continue with Different Dimension Capsule, and I select this card from my deck to be added to my hand after two standby phases. Go!" he finished with a bit of personal triumph at playing what he expected to be the win.

"I pass." Oracle stated, being unable to draw and not wanting to destroy Kamishiro's Angel of Dark Rebirth (2900/0).

"Running scared eh? Not wanting my big strong angel to pick your Saint (3300/2000) apart?" Kamishiro felt good that he could mock his opponent, now that he had his strategy ready, he knew he would win.

"I pass again." Oracle finished. Next turn she'd be able to draw.

"You lose then!" Kamishiro stated. Oracle snickered at his confidence and he glared. "I'll show you how: Activate Special Hurricane!" he laughed hardily at Oracle and she gasped. "This destroys all Special Summoned monsters, which includes Sacred Crane (1600/400), Different Dimension Dragon (1200/1500) and last but not least… SAINT JOAN (3300/2000)!" he laughed so hard spit slid from his mouth. Oracle was now left with no hand, no field, and Kamishiro still hadn't attacked. "Unfortunately, I can only switch my Avatar (1200/1300) to attack mode to attack, as my Angel must be dead for a full turn before revival. Attack with Pot Smashing." Kamishiro yawned exactly as Oracle had as she fell to her knees by a pot hitting her.

Kamishiro-1200

Oracle-300

Oracle stood up shakily. "That was harsh." she smiled weakly and placed her hand on her deck to draw. Kamishiro discarded a card.

"Now I revive my Angel (3400/0) with more than enough dark power to blow you to the Pearly Gates!" Kamishiro couldn't have smiled wider as Oracle drew.

She looked at the card for a second, unable to believe her horrible luck. "I pass." Oracle finished sadly, knowing what was coming.

"That means you lose. Attack her directly my beasts!" both the Angel of Dark Rebirth (3400/0) and the Avatar (1200/1300) charged in, but they were both denied as a giant boat appeared and lifted Oracle from her place to avoid the attack. "WHAT-DID-YOU-_DO!_" Kamishiro shook with rage as he saw his final attack be deflected.

The boat landed and Oracle hopped back down and smiled as it disappeared. "I activated my Rescuer from the Grave, which activates from my graveyard and negates all attacks this turn, then it is removed from play." She slid a card that was ejected from the graveyard slot into her robe. "Done yet!" she asked with a wink. Kamishiro growled and nodded.

"Just pass so we can end this duel!" he glared, tapping his foot impatiently.

Oracle drew. "I had no intention of losing, and now I play the win, first comes the Ritual Magic card, Shinato's Ark!" she smiled as another giant boat appeared before her, this one with an angelic flag on the mast. "I then discard The Creator and special summon… Shinato- King of the Higher Plane (3300/3000)!" the boat burst apart and a seven winged angel that glowed with holy light appeared. "Attack Avatar of the Pot (1200/1300)!" she commanded. The newest angel did as it was told and unleashed a ring of holy power which blew Kamishiro and his weakest monster away.

Kamishiro-0

Oracle-300

Kamishiro fell to his knees before he was whisked from the dimension and everything went white.

* * *

Shisei opened his eyes and looked around him. 'Did Namia and Ryuko win?"' he thought to himself. Ryuko sat up in a daze as well. Namia did beside him as well. "Namia, Ryuko… You guys won the duel!" he asked, excited.

Namia looked at him and tried to remember. "I… lost." she said slowly, remembering her spectacular comeback, only to lose. Ryuko blinked in surprise.

"Then why are we alive… We lost are souls right!" Ryuko asked in worry as to why something so strange was happening to them.

"I don't know, but I do know we better find Kou, he might have been revived too." Shisei said wisely. The others nodded in agreement. "Then let's go!" Shisei declared. Ryuko stood up and followed Shisei and Namia, who led the way towards Osmos's castle.

* * *

Oracle smiled and readjusted her cloak. "Don't lose hope, and don't lose your way young ones." she stated, watching with her beautiful gray eyes from the clouds above.

* * *

Osmos clasped his hands tightly as Kamishiro, who had suddenly appeared in his chambers, retold him all that had happened to Shisei, Kou, and Namia since they came to the island. "Well then, Kamishiro… Looks like we have another new plan." Smirked the silver haired man. "And what interesting plans they will be. For now, though, call back all eliminators." Osmos said.

"Yes sir. But may I ask… What is this new plan exactly?" asked Kamishiro, trying to sound offhand.

"Well, I can tell you one thing, Kamishiro." Osmos began. He stood up and circled around to look out the window, where rain pounded against the glass. "There will be more than one funeral after I'm done." he smirked as thunder struck.

* * *

Next time: Another day, another duel for Shisei. Unfortunately, this duel won't be all fun and games. Even though there won't be soul betting on this match, Shisei risks his Dark Paladin on the outcome of a match to try and win The Magician of Black Chaos. Can he win against someone that uses a strategy based off the Dark Magician cards as well? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

To Rex: I just hate the name Tea, I would use Joey and Tristan's Japanese names as well, but I always misspell Jounouchi (?) and Tristan I don't really care, if you want Honda I can do Honda.

To Darksoulki: Whoa, good guess!


	36. Paladin Chaos

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! But I do own this new and, in my opinion, really cool chick. So don't steal her.

_Chapter 36: Paladin Chaos_

Shisei groaned under the weight of the items he brought. 'Why did I bring so many _Duelist Weekly_ magazines!"' he asked himself dejectedly. He struggled for a few more minutes, unnoticed by Namia and Ryuko. "Guys… Let's stop for a bit!" he finally collapsed, managing to squeeze this out before hand.

Namia blinked at the state of the blond, he _did _look really exhausted. She sighed and sat on a boulder. "Ryuko, let's stop for Shisei." she stated.

Ryuko looked at the blond as well, he sighed and began to back towards the hill with his hands behind his head and looking at Shisei with disapproval. "Why did you bri-AUGH!" he was about to tell Sei off before he hit a small pebble backing away. Shisei and Namia weren't listening and only just saw him fall.

"RYUKO!" Namia lunged forward to grab him and only shot over the slightly steep hill herself. Shisei struggled to get up. Just as he came to the hill, he lost his little balance and sailed over the edge.

"AHHHHHHHH!" he cried along with Ryuko and Namia. CRASH! All three of the duelists rested in an odd pile at the bottom of the hill, Shisei moaned in pain and got up to see the Magician of Black Chaos looking at him. "AH!" he backed up, not realizing it was a hologram. Ryuko snickered as Shisei saw the full view.

"What's wrong, afraid of dueling now cause you suck!" Ryuko laughed.

Namia looked at the two dueling men. One of them was a girl with eight fingers around her neck. She had black hair and wore glasses similar to Sei's. The other was a rough looking boy with a bowl bang haircut and dog tags around his neck. He had three fingers positioned on his ring. "Sei, she has one of the fingers we need to have ten!" Namia stated excitedly.

"I noticed." Shisei said, intently watching the duel finish.

Girl's LP/Field/Hand-4600/Attack mode Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600) one card facedown/Two hand cards

Boy's LP-2100/Attack mode Barrel Dragon (2600/2200)/Four hand cards

It was the girl's turn. "Alright," she began. "I'll start by attacking Barrel Dragon!" The odd looking Dark Magician before her leapt forward and blasted the cybernetic dragon apart.

"Nice, but I you can't win with just this turn girly!" The boy was obviously happy he wouldn't be losing anytime soon. He was wrong about that.

"I'm not done yet, I use the magic card I took back when I summoned the Dark Magician of Chaos, Monster Reborn!" A rebirth symbol appeared and the Dark Magician glowed behind it. "I revive the original Dark Magician (2500/2100) in attack mode!" Purple robed and proud, the magician appeared before her. "Start taking that finger off now, I use my facedown card, Replay, and split my LP to use Double Spell again, then I discard this card and use your previously discarded Quick Attack!" The duel was definitely over, as the newest mage blasted it's opponent's LP to dust.

Girl-2300

Boy-0

The boy fell to his knees and as he saw the girl approach him, he gave her the finger they must have bet and she added it to her other eight. "Thank you!" she smiled as he left dejectedly through the woods.

Shisei smirked and removed a middle finger, the type of finger she needed to have ten of them all. "Hey, want to duel!" he asked. BAM! Namia smacked him upside the head as the girl turned to the three friends. "Ow! Why did you do that, Namia!" Sei glared but Namia hopped over to the girl and held out a hand to shake.

"My name is Namia Sashimi, the regional champion of London, you!" Namia inquired politely. The girl frowned.

"Um, Reiko Watanabe, and I accept your challenge!" She smirked and readied her disk without waiting for Shisei's name. Namia put her hands up exasperated and muttered something about boys, to which she quickly added "and some girls".

"Shisei Aragashi, I was also wondering something else, before we get started." Sei began after giving his name.

"What?" the girl was busy preparing her deck from the last duel.

"Do you play with all Dark Magician cards, or cards that could be used to help him?" asked Sei. She stopped her shuffling and nodded. "Missing any?" Sei finished, praying the answer was yes.

"Yeah, but only the one. The Dark Paladin." she said sadly.

"Then let's ante a card as well, I'll give you my Dark Paladin if you agree to give me your Dark Magician of Chaos. It's the one of the only cards I need to complete my strategies." he said. He smiled as he thought about owning that card when he faced Yugi in the finals.

Reiko thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, I'll give you the card if you win." she agreed. "Now let's stop talking and duel!" she smiled and readied her disk.

Reiko-8000

Shisei-8000

"I start!" Reiko drew and smiled. "Summon Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode, and I set one card facedown, go!" she stated, egging Shisei on.

"I start with three cards facedown, go!" Shisei smiled, happy with his standard opening move.

"No monsters? That's a sad opening play." Reiko obviously didn't know Sei's strategy, so she wasn't aware he always started off like this.

"I'll now draw." she slid her top card off her deck and looked at it. "I play Pitch Black Power Stone, which wi-" she cut off as a facedown card on Sei's field flipped.

"Nice try, but I play Dust Tornado, and wipe your card off the field!" he smirked. A raging flurry of tornadoes with feathers swirling through them appeared and blew three glowing stones of power away. Reiko gritted her teeth.

"Fine, I just attack you directly! Go Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700), Dark Magic Attack!" she smirked as the mage powered up and let a huge blast of energy fly at Shisei. Just as the dark energy approached the boy, he flipped a card and it fizzled out.

"Say hello to Nightmare Wheel!" An odd machine appeared and grasped the monster in itself. "This will stop your monster from attacking and defending!" Sei smirked.

"Fine, go!" Reiko glared as Sei drew. 'This kid doesn't seem to have a Dark Magician deck at all, what's his real strategy!" Reiko wondered to herself.

"I start with Fatal Abacus, which gives a player 500 points of damage every time they lose a monster!" Shisei smirked. "I end my turn with one card facedown and Spell Absorption!" A glowing aura of green appeared around him and his magic/trap slot filled up with his facedown cards, Fatal Abacus, Nightmare Wheel, and Spell Absorption.

"Fine, I draw!" She slid her next card off of her deck and growled looking at it as her LP decreased.

Reiko-7500

Shisei-8000

"Oh, and Nightmare Wheel also makes you lose 500 of your LP at each of your standby phases." Shisei added.

"I know. Now I sacrifice my monster for the Chaos Command Magician (2400/1900) in attack mode!" A new monster, this one looking as deadly as the Dark Magician, only considerably less darker, appeared. "I lose another 500 LP to do this, but the pay off is much better, ATTACK!" The magician formed a light vortex of energy, only to be blasted with lightning from the sky. "What happened!" Reiko did the same thing many other duelists do, ignore her opponent's field as her monster was blasted to pieces.

"I played Raigeki Break, which let me discard my last card to blow one of your cards away!" smirked the blond across from her. "So you lost 1500 LP total and it's only been two turns!" Shisei snickered, proud of his opening chains.

"Don't count me out yet, I activate Call of the Haunted, and -" she cut herself off as she saw a glittering ring of bombs appear on her newly reformed monster. "Ring of Destruction." she muttered to herself, sliding the ejected card into her graveyard slot again.

Reiko-3600

Shisei-5600

"You got it right! I'm shocked!" snickered Shisei, proud of his depleted hand and her depleted LP. "Done yet?" he asked.

Reiko smiled slightly as she set down a card. "Your sadly, the same as all the other duelists I've faced, so confident in your strategy you can't see it's flaws." she took two of her four hand cards and discarded them while pressing another card into her magic/trap slot. "I play Polymerization to fuse the two cards I just discarded, D.D. Warrior Lady and Dark Magician Girl!" Shadows of a girl with blue robes tinged with pink and a female warrior wearing silver armor appeared behind her. "Now they fuse into: D.D. Paladin Girl (2000/1500) in attack mode!" she smirked.

Shisei looked at this new monster in shock. The monster itself was a blue armored woman with an oddly shaped sword in her hands. It glowed with white light. "I never heard of that monster!" he admitted freely.

"So you haven't, to bad. I have to end my turn unfortunately, as Polymerization would have had to be activated during my Main Phase 2." she sighed sadly as her D.D. Paladin Girl (2600/2100) floated in front of her protectively.

"HEY! How did your monster get so much stronger!" yelled Shisei in shock at the increase in attack.

"Simple, my monster gains 300 attack and defense points for every monster that includes Magician in it's title that falls to either of our graveyards!" Reiko snickered and Shisei gulped at realizing exactly how screwed he was.

Reiko-3600

Shisei-6100

"Fine, I draw!" he did so with little hope in winning. "I now set one card, go!" he stated. Reiko eyed the card and drew.

"I use the second ability of my monster and remove these two cards from the game," Reiko began. She slid two hand cards into her purse and the D.D. Paladin Girl (2600/2100) concentrated for a moment before blasting the Spell Absorption and the facedown card into another dimension.

"Your monster removes cards?" Shisei asked.

"That's right, I have to remove cards from my hand or field to activate it's removal effect, but now you have no traps to spring!" Reiko stated proudly. Shisei looked at his field and realized this was true, and both he and his opponent were out of hand cards. "Now my D.D. Paladin will directly attack you!" The female paladin raised a glowing blade and cut into Sei's shoulder.

Reiko-3600

Shisei-4500

"I'm done, make your move!" She smiled politely as Shisei drew.

"I think it's time for a refill, I play Card of Demise!" he drew five cards and his eyes went wide. "You want to see whose Paladin is stronger!" he asked. Reiko's eyes went wide as well. "I play Remove Trap on my Fatal Abacus!" the calculating machine with the heads of monsters disappeared. "Next I activate Monster Reborn and summon Chaos Command Magician (2400/1900) to my field!" the magician reappeared as Sei said it would. "Next comes Cost down, and I sacrifice your loser of a monster, for the Dark Magician!" Sei smirked as his favorite monster appeared.

"So you do actually have a Dark Magician. I was wondering for a second there." Reiko said. Shisei didn't even hear her.

"I'm now activating Card of Sanctity and draw six cards." he did so, looking them over quickly. "Finally, I'll activate Polymerization, to fuse both my hand Buster Blader, and Dark Magician to become, the Dark Paladin (2900/2400)!" A black armored Paladin appeared and smirked. The female version of the Dark Paladin only smirked, now that Shisei had a Dark Magician in his graveyard, D.D. Paladin Girl had the same attack power.

"If you haven't noticed, our monsters tie in attack, so unless you come up with a really good strategy, I can blow your monster away with my D.D. Paladin Girl's (2900/2400) effect!" Reiko exclaimed happily.

"I also place two cards facedown, go." Shisei finished. Reiko looked at his monster with awe, she had always dreamed of owning the Dark Paladin since it was released.

'I have to win to claim that monster! No matter what!"' she though to herself. "I start by drawing!" She drew but didn't even look at the card before pressing the effect activate button on her disk. "I remove this card and remove Dark Paladin (2900/2400) from play as well!" she smirked, but Sei activated one of his facedown cards.

"I play De-fusion, and cancel out your effect by summoning Dark Magician (2500/2100) back to the field in defense mode, and Buster Blader (2600/2300) in attack-no defense! Oh crap!" Shisei moaned as he realized he'd made one of the stupidest mistakes ever.

Reiko laughed. "Smooth blondy! My monster's effect may have been negated, but I can still attack your Buster Blader (2600/2300)!" D.D. Paladin Girl (2600/2100), weaker because Dark Magician had escaped the grave, charged forward and slashed at Shisei's monster, dragon wings popping out of her back as Shisei activated a facedown card.

"Activate DNA Surgery, and this lets me change the type of all monster to the one I declare, I call Dragon!" all of the monsters suddenly sprouted wings and their eyes became slits. "This gives my Buster Blader (3100/2300) the boost of attack he needs to blow your Paladin Girl away!" the big and burly swordsman slashed through the other warrior.

"NO!" Reiko moaned but pressed another button on her disk. "I use my monster's last effect, which removes both our monsters from the game." she finished sadly. Shisei shrugged and took his monster off the disk to slide it into his back pocket.

Reiko-3100

Shisei-4500

"Now it's my turn!" Shisei drew and frowned. "I switch Dark Magician (2500/2100) to attack mode and play attack your LP." he finished bored. "I end by setting three more cards." he did so, leaving one card in his hand.

Reiko-600

Shisei-4500

Reiko gulped as she realized she could lose in the next turn. "I draw!" she did so and slid the card into the disk. "I play Pot of Greed!" she slid two more cards from her deck. Her eyes went impossible wide as she saw them. "I'm about to show you _my _ultimate monster, activate Change of Heart!" Dark Magician looked wicked for a moment as it jumped to Reiko's side of the field.

"Hey!" Shisei growled. Nobody took his monsters like that.

"Tough, I also play the final card in your defeat…. Dedication Through Light and Darkness, which let's me trade the Dark Magician in, for a new monster…!" The world began to glow with an unholy light. The Dark Magician grabbed it's head and squeezed it's eyes shut in pain. Finally letting go of his head, his body was consumed by the light, and he emerged with a tough and rugged look on his face, as well as with a new and considerable odder attire. He waved his new wand and a pot appeared before him. "Say hello to the Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600)! I use his effect to re use Pot of Greed!" Reiko smirked and drew twice more. She smiled widely again. "This is the end for you, I activate Monster Reborn, and revive your own Dark Magician (2500/2100)!" she laughed still more. "Now I end it with Heavy Storm, so your last defenses are gone!" Shisei's three facedown cards disappeared with a great and powerful storm.

"No way!" Shisei said aloud, awed by such power. He looked at his single hand card and hoped he was going to get lucky.

"This is it, Dark Magician of Chaos (2800/2600), Dark Magician (2500/2100) blow his LP to pieces!" Both the warrior and the mage bent their knees, and lunged in for the kill.

_To be continued_

* * *

**Next Time:** The duel heats up as the Dark Magician of Chaos squares off against Shisei's best monsters. But when it comes down to the deciding battle, Shisei finds himself relying on a certain card Osmos gave him (anyone remember it?). Can he possible win against a girl that matches his skill with monsters to her magic and traps? Find out next time on Duel Monsters Maximum!

To Rex: Ah, the power of creative editing. I thought about using his effect from the anime, but I didn't feel like all the "how did that happen" dialogue.

To Myhi: MWHAHAHAHAHAAAA! It's the evil power of the author to keep his readers in the dark. Actually, I got tired of Kou, so I killed him. If he interests me again, I'll bring him back. (yawns bored)


	37. A Magical Lesson

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! But I do own this new and, in my opinion, really cool chick. So don't steal her.

_Chapter 37: A Magical Lesson_

"HOLD ON!" Shisei yelled, slamming his hand card into the duel disk. 'It all comes down to this! Please, I don't want to lose my card!"' he thought as a hologram of his quick play magic card appeared before both of the duelists. "I activate my last card, Angel Dice!" A cute and petit angel with no face appeared, holding a large shimmering white die.

Reiko raised her eyebrows at this last attempt for Sei to save himself. "You don't really think you'll get a five or a six, do you!" she asked. 'This kid is insane, I'd just take the loss without humiliating myself more!"' she thought.

Shisei only pointed to his angel's die. "Go, roll the die Angel of dice!" he commanded. The monster followed his command and dropped the large white die. "You must already know what my angel dice does, right?" he asked Reiko.

"Yeah, it decreases the attack of all monsters on my field by the 100x the number rolled." Shisei nodded to confirm her word.

"And looks like its about to stop." Shisei looked at his last chance. The die stopped bouncing and began to spin on it's axis. 'Five or six!"' Shisei prayed. With one final bounce, the die stood on… 5!

"NO WAY!" Reiko cried in disbelief, her Dark Magician (2000/2100) and Dark Magician of Chaos (2300/2600) suddenly looked a bit feverish, but they lunged and blasted twin dark energy at Shisei anyway.

Reiko-600

Shisei-200

"And now it's my turn!" Shisei smirked and drew happily, ready to bring forth his strategies once more.

"Whoa, I didn't now Sei was such a good duelist." Ryuko frowned in surprise at seeing Shisei save himself and with a "handicapped" deck as well. "He sucked when we were all dueling Kamishiro." The boy had sat down to pull a splinter out of his leg once the duel began, and now it had absorbed further into his skin from his paying such close attention to the duel while ignoring it.

"Yeah, he's good." Namia agreed. "The problem when he dueled Kamishiro was us, actually." she stated. Ryuko looked at her in shock.

"Are you calling me a bad duelist!" he asked, glaring at her.

Namia sighed. "No, otherwise I'd have to insult my own dueling skill too. I'm saying Sei needs to have the field all to himself for most of his strategies to work." she said. "He told me so after a double duel against some of Osmos's lackeys. He doesn't have any monster cards, so all the cards in his deck like Torrential Tribute , Dark Hole, and Needle Ceiling, that destroy all monsters on the field won't effect him in the least." she began, Ryuko suddenly realized what she meant.

"So if we hadn't been there… then he could have used some of his more powerful combos, ones that destroy all monsters and stuff?" he asked. Now he wasn't feeling so great of a duelist. 'Damn, if my monsters hadn't been in the way, he would have been able to wipe Kamishiro off of the field!"' Ryuko thought, not noticing Namia nod. 'I will become a better duelist, for you grandpa."' he thought.

"Ryuko… you okay!"' Namia asked. Ryuko looked up and flashed the peace sign.

"Good as I'll ever be!" he smiled and watched the duel closer, determined to learn something from it.

Shisei slid the card off of his deck and smirked. "I activate Replay on Card of Sanctity!" Both duelist slid the proper amount of cards from their decks. "Then I set three cards facedown, make your move, and attack, if you dare!" Shisei challenged.

Reiko-600

Shisei-100

"I'll just draw for now." Reiko drew and held seven cards. 'Hm, he obviously doesn't want me to feel safe in attacking, which means those cards might be useless to him…"' Reiko began to ponder the odd boy's strategy. 'Come on Reiko, both of you are Magician Duelists, you should know how to win!"' she thought. "I'll summon Blast Magician (1400/1700) in defense mode!" she slid a monster onto the disk, and a red robed and angry looking mage appeared before them. It kneeled down beside it's dark robed mentors.

"I'm not feeling threatened." Shisei yawned but Reiko took no notice of this.

"I'll end my turn now." Shisei looked disappointed, but drew.

"Okay, I'll set this last card facedown, go." he stated.

"Fine by me." Reiko drew, still watching her opponent like a hawk. Then she looked at her cards and smirked. "I play Temple of Chaos Magic!" Reiko smirked. The Dark Magician of Chaos (3000/2800) and Dark Magician (2700/2300) grew a bit taller and their auras grew darker. "My Temple of Chaos Magic gives all Dark attribute spell casters 200 extra attack and defense points, and it allows them to negate trap or magic cards that try to destroy them!" The area around them suddenly became an ancient temple glowing with dark energy. Reiko snickered as Shisei paled. "Sayonara, attack, Dark Magician (2700/2300)!" The monster obliged and swept it's staff forward in a blast of dark magic.

"Activate, Scapegoat, giving me four defensive Sheep Tokens (0/0)!" Shisei flipped his quick play card and the Dark Magician blasted a brilliantly colored sheep out of it's way. With consent from Reiko, the Chaos (3000/2800) monster charged forward and did the same.

Reiko growled as Shisei stuck his tongue out. "I'm done then." she glared as he drew.

"I start my move with Mystical Space Typhoon!" Shisei smirked as another mighty storm appeared and rushed over to blow down the black as night walls of the temple the duelists stood in. Reiko yawned as her Dark Magician of Chaos (3200/3000) spun his staff around and canceled out the storm. "No way!" Shisei looked at her incredulously.

"That's right, my temple's second ability allows me to sacrifice a monster to it, and cancel out a destruction effect! As well as give all the correct monsters another boost of 200! " she smirked as the Dark Magician, which had begun to look pale, burst into digital dust with horrible screams, while her Dark Magician of Chaos (3200/3000) got even more powerful. "Sorry, Dark Magician, I will avenge you!" she said. Shisei growled as he realized what this meant.

"Fine, I activate one of my bluff cards, Pot of Greed!" he drew twice, as every one does after activating such a common card. 'What… This is!"' he looked at the card in horror, not remembering putting it into his deck. 'Dedication through Darkness and Light.."' Flashes from his recent time with his now deceased best friend came to him as he remembered how he had solved puzzles in order to save Kou. How he had grown up looking to Kou for different kinds of advice, and giving him advice as well. 'I'm not dueling here for fun…it's for Kou."' He looked up with an odd emotion on his face.

"What!" Reiko asked, not sure she understand his expression.

"I just realized something Reiko. And as much as I hate to admit it, I realized this because of someone very evil." he looked at the card with a faint smile as he set it facedown. "I will win this duel and this tournament, whether I _want_ to do it for me or not. I _have_ to do it for my friend." he pressed another button to play a facedown card. "I activate Call of the Haunted and revive the Dark Magician to my field, then I play Curse of Fiend, and switch the modes of all our monsters." he finished his turn without giving anything about the card away.

"Well, I'm glad you have a reason to win. I fight for myself, I freely admit it, but then again, if you duel to save someone _you_ love, then your fighting for yourself too." Reiko pointed out. Shisei shook his head.

"I'm fighting for my best friend, otherwise I wouldn't fight at all, finish this, if you can." Shisei commanded.

"I can, if you don't know, my Blast Magician has the ability to remove spell counters from himself to destroy monsters. And since he has been gaining counters each time we play magic cards, I remove two and blow your Sheep Tokens to oblivion!" The red robed mage formed a ball of energy in his hands and shot it at the tokens, which exploded upon impact. "Then I switch both of my monsters into attack mode, and attack Dark Magician (2100) with Dark Magician of Chaos (3200/3000)!" the mages squared off momentarily and the Dark Magician fell to his knee and was blown to pieces.

"Thank-you, Dark Magician." Shisei uttered a farewell as his monster was blown into digital dust.

"You lose, I attack you directly with Blast Magician (1400/1700)!" It was soon to be over, as the fiery Spell caster blasted red energy at Shisei.

"Nice try, but I activate Mirror Force!" Sei's card flipped and actually worked. A barrier of white energy appeared and blasted the attack of Blast Magician back to him, while the Dark Magician of Chaos only spun out the attack.

"Your card did almost nothing, I still have my mightiest monster and it has all of it's attack power to wipe you out next turn. For now, I'll set all but this one card facedown." Reiko yawned and set four cards as Shisei drew his "final" card.

'I fight for Kou, Chiro, Namia, and Ryuko too, so please my deck, don't let me down."' These thoughts went through Shisei's mind and he was wondering why he didn't think of these thoughts every time he got into a duel for his soul. Why was this duel so important to him? 'Because, it shows me my reason to duel!"' he figured. He drew and looked at the card before sliding it into his disk. "I play Return From the Different Dimension and pay half my LP,"

Reiko-600

Shisei-50

"to let both of us bring as many monsters as possible back from the other dimension." Dark Paladin (2900/2400) and Buster Blader (2600/2300) both returned to him. "Next comes my own Heavy Storm!" he smirked as Reiko only shrugged, her facedown cards being nothing that she'd use anyway.

"Don't forget, I get to return monsters too, and I choose D.D. Paladin Girl (3400/2900) who has a grand attack of 3400!" Reiko informed him. "And Temple of Chaos Magic prevents any Dark Spell casters from going to the removed from play pile, so my monster won't be leaving next turn!" she smirked.

"then I activate Scroll of Bewitchment, to change D.D. Paladin Girl to a Light monster!" Reiko growled, but was happy this depleted Shisei completely and totally since he had no hand and only one card facedown. "Then I end my turn with Dedication through Darkness and Light, a card given to me by Higentaka Osmos!" Shisei commanded his card to activate and it blasted his Buster Blader into oblivion. His blood ran cold when no Dark Paladin reappeared. 'No it was a fake!"' he thought.

"Smooth, now you lose!" Reiko announced, drawing her card. Just as she called her attack, the world shifted and Shisei's second Dark Paladin Card (2900/2400) which he had placed on the disk, burst into flame when the Dark Paladin was destroyed. Reiko blinked in confusion as a Dark Paladin, though this one with a much colder look and red energy blasting around him from the sky. Then his attire changed more and it had purple markings glowing everywhere around it.

"Say hello the Dark Paladin of Chaos (3200/2700) in attack mode." Shisei smirked at his newest monster. The card on his disk stopped glowing it's brilliant red and changed forever into the monster before them. "He has the ability to add a magic or trap card from my graveyard to my hand!" Shisei took a card back and smirked. "My turn yet?" he asked Reiko.

"Go!" Reiko said, half frightened, half annoyed. 'That thing still only ties with my monster, he can't win next turn at least.

"Now don't be mad because you lose, just accept it, I activate the card I took back, DNA Surgery!" he smirked as the trap made Dragons of all the monsters on the field. "Now my monster gains 500 attack points for every dragon removed from play, in our graveyards, and of course, in our hands!" he smirked as the Dark Paladin of Chaos (4400/2700) grew even deadlier looking. "Don't forget about your Temple of Chaos Magic's effect to increase the attack of all Dark Spell casters too!" Shisei was giddy with excitement at having such a strong monster on the field. "Now, Paladin, blow her monster to oblivion!" the Paladin raised it's blade and cut the Chaos Magician (3200/3000) in half with it's attack. "End game!" Shisei stated proudly.

Reiko-0

Shisei-50

Reiko looked at the Magic and Trap duelist with utter admiration and shock. "That was an excellent duel!" she finally admitted. She removed the two cards on her disk and the last finger that the group needed. "As I promised, I give you my Dark Magician of Chaos. And I also want you to have this." she handed him the Dark Magician he always wanted, the finger, and her Temple of Chaos Magic card.

Sei's eyes went wide, Namia and Ryuko rushed over to congratulate him and were shocked by his third prize. "I couldn't-" Sei began.

"No, you are the best Dark Magician Duelist I've ever had the pleasure of dueling, you deserve it." she stated. Shisei nodded. "There is one question I had though, where did you get that last card, Dark Paladin of Chaos?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'd never heard of it either." Namia and Ryuko said at the same time.

Shisei took out Dedication through Darkness and Light and his two newest cards. "I…It says that it can be Special summoned when Temple of Chaos Magic is on the field and I play Dedication through Darkness and Light." Shisei told them. He looked up to Reiko and then looked at his Dark Paladin. "I… I don't need this really, not anymore." he handed the card to the shocked girl.

"Th-thanks!" she sputtered. Shisei nodded and looked toward the castle.

"We have to go, but thanks for such a great duel. I learned something from a friend…" he looked at the card Osmos gave him. "and an enemy."

Reiko turned about to leave, but she spun on her heel. "Oh, one more thing…" she bent and kissed him on the cheek, then with a wink, left through the woods. Sei grabbed his cheek for a moment, and the moment lasted for a long time.

Namia sighed and grabbed him by the ear, to which he took no notice. "Ryuko, grab his feet, getting to that castle could take a while." She said. Ryuko sighed, but obliged and helped her drag Sei off.

* * *

**Next time**: The end of the tournament is fast approaching, and Osmos, as crafty as he is, gives our trio a challenge behind Yugi's, Kaiba's, and Joey's backs. They are dared to win against Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey to save to soul of Kou. Will they accept and prevail, or has their dueling luck run out? Find out next time on Duel Monsters Maximum!

A/N: I'm sorry for the delay on this chapter, but I decided to reedit the earlier chapters since some of them don't have the spaces and things in them. But I put two chapters up this time, so you can't hate me that much. Sayonara!


	38. Into the Castle

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

_Chapter 38: Into the Castle_

Large and foreboding. Dark and as sterile as the rock that made it. Reflecting the glaring sunlight of the setting golden orb at them through it's windows. All of these things described the castle that Namia, Ryuko, and Shisei stepped up to. They had great reason to be at this castle. For one thing, only a few hours before, Shisei learned of Kouichi Nandao, a pretty skilled warrior duelist's and his best friend's, death. Then the brown haired boy, Ryuko, found out he was being used, though he was a little skeptical at first, losing his soul made him believe his new comrades when they told him Osmos was evil. Namia had a… "complicated" relationship with the blue haired boy named Kou as well.

Shisei looked at his newest cards and sighed. 'It's not a game with Osmos, I can't screw up in the final match."' he thought. He walked forward and looked at a large device with finger shaped holes (that sounds _SO _wrong).

'I don't know why I feel this way, but I do feel like I lost more than a best friend when Kou died…"' Namia walked up next to Shisei and looked at the slots, taking off their necklace of fingers. More than enough valiant thoughts went through her mind. 'Kou…"' she began to place the fingers in as a young boy came up next to her.

'….."' Ryuko felt an odd emptiness inside of him. "Think they have hot dogs in there?" he asked. Shisei and Namia face fell.

Shisei jumped back up and looked at Ryuko in disbelief. "Don't you feel a little out of place, at all saying that, I mean we just walked up to the castle of our arch enemy and you ask about hot dogs!" Sei yelled. Ryuko rolled his eyes.

"Fine." he cleared his throat. "Do you think they have any hamburgers!" he growled. Shisei only sighed as Namia finished placing the fingers in the correct slots. The large doors absorbed them and slowly began to rumble.

"Looks like we did it." Namia flashed her male friends a thumbs up. The sliding and rumbling began to lessen, and soon the doors were open all the way.

Three people stood in the doorway. One of them was a tall man in a white trench coat holding a briefcase with a KC tattooed on it. He had an annoyed look on his face and brown hair. The second tallest was a blue jean jacketed boy yawning. He stopped abruptly when they came in, scratching his blond head nervously. Finally, a slightly short man with dark eyes, an upside down pyramid necklace around his neck, and multicolored hair. Though he looked evil, he had a kind smile on his face. "Welcome to the Special Session." he said. The man with brown hair groaned and walked away.

"YUGI MOTO!" Shisei yelled suddenly . The two men that remained jumped, startled by such a reaction. Suddenly, the stairs rumbled and two more people came down. A boy and a girl with brown hair. The boy was well built and had a huge spike for an odd haircut.

"What was that? You guys okay, Kaiba just came striding by!" Tristan, the brown haired boy with the spike in his hair, asked.

The tricolor haired man, Yami, nodded. "We are fine. Is there a reason you have for shouting my name?" Yami asked.

"I-You-your real-I see-This-You!" Shisei began to sputter without any clear meaning to his words. Namia held out a hand for them to shake. Shisei smacked it out of the way and rushed over to Yami, forcing their hands together, he brought them up and down over and over again. "It's a pleasure to see you, really, I mean, I'm a big fan… Can I have your autograph!" Sei said quickly.

"HEY!" Ryuko yelled, watching Kaiba, who had been trudging up the large amount of steps all this time, retreat around the corner. "COME BACK HERE AND GIVE ME THE BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGONS!" Ryuko bounded up the stairs after him. Tristan and Anzu wore blank stares as he hopped up two at a time, quite a feat for such a young boy.

"Anybody notice I'm here!" Joey Wheeler, the blond that was previously mentioned, asked. Namia held out her hand to him and he took it. "Nice to meet you… Considering I'm so famous, you must know who I am, so who are you?" Joey asked smirking in confidence.

Namia looked him up and down. "My name is Namia Sashimi…But I can't say I remember hearing about you…" she started.

"WHAT!" Joey exploded suddenly "HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW ABOUT ME! I ALMOST BEAT YUGI!" he yelled in shock. Namia laughed hardily as Joey grumbled to himself.

"I was just kidding, I know your Joey Wheeler, the luckiest-" she cut off seeing the look on his face. "Er-I mean bravest duelist around!" she smiled and Joey nodded in approval of her description.

"As I said before." Yami, with a little help from Tristan and Anzu, pried Shisei off of himself. "Welcome to the Special Session. Osmos has asked us to help promote his company further by allowing you three the opportunity to duel and perhaps defeat us. And the only way to win the prize will be to successfully either tie with all of us, win against all of us, and then defeat Osmos." Yami finished, looking as though he'd read part of the dialogue off his hand.

"Your really going to duel me!" Shisei hopped up and down with excitement as Ryuko came down the stairs… being held by the scruff of his neck in Kaiba's hand.

"Keep the kid down here!" Kaiba tossed Ryuko over the heads of Namia and Shisei and stomped back up the stairs, annoyed.

Ryuko growled and stood up. "HEY!" he began. "Come back and give me the Blue eyes like a man!" he charged toward the stairway again, but Joey tripped him. "Oof, what did you do that for!" Ryuko glared at the blond. Joey raised a hand in the air his palm horizontal and slightly above his hand.

"Let's face facts kid," he began. "Kaiba is a multi billionaire that stands about this tall," he pointed with his free hand to the one that was raised. "and you are a scruffy midget about," he slid his hand down, though it was in the same position. "this tall. You can't get his Blue-Eyes by force, and probably not in a duel either." Joey finished.

Ryuko glared at him and stood up. "You want to fight then, huh!" he rushed at Joey, who sidestepped the initial hit and tripped the poor boy again. "Ow…" Ryuko said, lying flat on his face as everybody else looked at Joey with a 'that was really mean' expression on their faces.

"What, the kid tried to attack me!" Joey said. Ryuko got up, glared at Joey, and walked calmly back over to Namia and Shisei's side. "Crazy kids." Joey muttered. The stairs suddenly emitted a loud creak. Shisei, Namia, Ryuko, Tristan, Anzu, Joey, and Yami turned to see a silver haired man approach.

Higentaka Osmos stepped down from the stair well and they cleared the way to let him walk. "For the newest duelists, I wish for you to follow me." he stated, walking into another room. Shisei had half a mind to stab him from behind, but decided against it. Osmos motioned for the duelists to follow him. "Come, I'll show you your rooms. " he stated. The duelists nodded and walked after him. Yami, Joey, and the others waved goodbye as they disappeared behind the door Osmos motioned.

Osmos had led the trio into a dark room with little light, so they couldn't see around themselves. "As you all know, you've been invited to this very prestigious tournament, and tomorrow morning, you will perform as a team," he began. Suddenly, light flooded the area to reveal a beautifully decorated arena. "to face the top three duel-" he was cut off.

"Get to the point Osmos, this obviously isn't our sleeping quarter." Shisei growled. Osmos smirked at him. The arena didn't in the least resemble a hotel room. It had large pictures of Duel Monsters painted around the room and places that would be perfect for duels, holo projectors were already set up.

"To right you are, this is the tournament room. I have a certain wager, however." Osmos was going to enjoy this.

"What?" Namia asked cautiously. Being in this room with only two other people and _whatever_ Osmos was scared her more than anyone could know.

"If you manage to overcome duelists as great as the three which I have volunteered for this.." he smiled, placing the tips of his fingers together patiently. "Then I will reward you with Kouichi Nandao's soul!" he smirked.

"WHAT!" Namia, Ryuko, and Shisei looked at him shocked. They knew he could easily cast a Shadow Game and even banish one. But he also had the power to restore souls?

"Ah, but alas, if you lose… well I'll leave that to your imagination. Your rooms are on the third floor, they each have your names on them." he stated, suddenly business like. "If even one of you chooses to duel tomorrow, then you all agree to accept my challenge. And if Yugi, Kaiba, or Joey hear of this, I will ensure none of you escape this island. Farewell!" Osmos left the room without another word.

* * *

Shisei sat on the bed that he had been given by Osmos. He took out his deck and looked at the cards. Directly after Osmos had left, the three duelists had devised a strategy for beating the friendlier duelists than Osmos. 'Okay, so Namia goes against Joey, that should be a pretty easy match, Kaiba will have to go against Ryuko, there is just no way he could take on Yugi, even though Kaiba will be tough. And I face the king of games himself."' Shisei went over the plan. He then laid down in his bed. 'Time to take out my Yugi defeater!"' he thought. He removed a deck from his pack and looked at the cards with a smirk.

* * *

Namia looked at the last of Joey Wheeler's duels on her laptop with a frown. 'Damn, that opponent wasn't a challenge to him at all, I need to see when he was challenged!"' she thought. 'Let's try his duel against Kaiba at Battle City…"' she flipped through internet pages, and selected the one she wanted, pressing a download button with a smile. "Joey, you just ran out of luck!" she began to record some of his better combos, and adjusted her deck with a smirk that matched Sei's.

* * *

Ryuko looked at his strongest dragon with determination. "This is it buddy, don't forget, were doing this for grandpa." he said. The card seemed to glow brighter as he said this. Ryuko then looked through his other cards, a memory of his time with his grandfather coming to him with each one he looked at. "Time to teach Osmos a lesson!" Ryuko said aloud with determination in his young voice.

* * *

Osmos smiled as the storm which had previously raged, blew itself out. "Kamishiro, wish to place any bets on the outcome of the tournament?" he asked. Kamishiro stood like a statue in the shadows of the doorway. He looked at Osmos with bewilderment.

"Well, um, I believe Mr. Aragashi will win his duel sir, he was very skilled in our duel!" Kamishiro said with a bit of question as to why he was asked this.

"Yes, he may win his duel, but in the end, you can trust me when I say this, he will lose everything!" Osmos laughed hysterically as he finished his sentence, then the darkness which he felt so at home in, surrounded him as the sun fell below the forests.

_To be Continued_

_

* * *

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**Next time**: The session begins, and Namia and Joey square off. More than a few powerful and lucky combos come out of both duelists hat, but can Joey really stand up to Namia when she summons the powerful Phoenix of Gold Fire? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

* * *

To Rex: Sorry, didn't mean to confuse you. I meant I _didn't_ use the monsters effect in the anime, which was to return whenever it got killed. And I don't like the name "Graceful Dice", so I did use its Japanese name, and in the next chapter when Joey uses his familiar Graceful Dice/Skull Dice combo, it will be Angel Dice/Demon Dice.

To john: I admire people like you John, for knowing how to be humorous in any situation. Either that or I admire you for being a completely crazy guy that comes out funny…whichever works better for you.

A/N: The final bit of this story, it will probably be about 10 or 11 more chapters. Anyway, anyone care to guess who will win in the Special Session match ups?


	39. Holding Back

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

_Chapter 39: Holding Back _

The morning of the Special Session came too early for Ryuko, who struggled to find his duel disk and deck, Namia and Shisei waiting in the hallway for him. "HA! Got it!" the young boy, who was awoken only three minutes before, ran a comb once through his brown hair and rushed outside to meet with his friends.

"Didn't think you'd make it for a second there." Shisei smirked at the younger duelist. Aside from a formal suit, he wore only a ready expression and a duel disk. Ryuko glared in response to this.

"Yeah, whatever, let's just go!" Knowing how big Osmos's castle was, Namia nodded and walked toward the stairs with the young boy. Shisei yawned, but followed.

The three were almost to the designated duel arena, fully aware that Osmos would restore the soul of someone very important to them if they could prevail in the session, when they heard a loud bit of clapping and cheering. Shisei's eyes widened and he rushed forward ahead of Namia and Ryuko to see if his suspicions were correct. 'Please, no, Osmos can't have brought in too many people!"' he prayed.

He was right. Inside of the room, which was barren and empty the night before, was a heaping crowd of people, all who were sitting in just recently set up stands. The stands were facing the dueling arena and Yugi in his Yami form (he'll be called Yami from now on), Joey, Kaiba, and, oddly enough, Mokuba, stood proud and ready. Joey waved to the crowd smiling. Yami looking at his best friend with a bemused smile. And Kaiba glaring at Yami.

'Damn, even if we could refuse, he has the chance to threaten innocent people along with Kou!"' Shisei growled. Namia rushed in after him, looking around, she saw Kamishiro standing at a podium with a microphone in his cold, gloved hands. Of course, he now faced the audience without his cloak's hood on. Ryuko burst out laughing at the "nerd's" appearance as Kamishiro began to announce the first duelist on the Special Session team. He told the audience that Namia, Ryuko, and Shisei would select who, from their team, was to duel against the selected duelist.

"Now the moment you've all been waiting for…." Kamishiro put a black magician's hat onto the podium beside the microphone, which he had set down. He dug his hand inside the hat for a while, Joey tensed up. Yami wore a look of readiness, Kaiba kept his arms folded, frequently looking at his deck, which he had given to Mokuba. Mokuba looked pale and Kaiba hoped he didn't throw up. "The first duelist on our All-Stars team will be the third in the world rankings, Joey Wheeler!" Kamishiro smiled and everyone clapped as the blond boy stepped up to his place. Namia looked at Shisei and Ryuko.

"I'll beat him, for Kou!" The blond duelist stepped up to her designated dueling spot with a powerful expression that Joey had always remembered Yugi and himself wearing when they were trying to help someone.

'Whoa, why is this chick taking a duel like this so seriously!"' The male blond thought. 'Oh well, better get to work."' Joey looked at his deck as his duel disk folded out and Kamishiro backed off the stage. "Alright, I haven't beat a regional champ in a long time, let's see if I can still do it!" he said.

"Your not facing some two-bit duelist like Rex or Weevil, now your going to have to work!" Namia was ready as well.

"Didn't say I wouldn't." Joey smirked and drew his opening hand as the LP score adjusted to full.

Joey-8000

Namia-8000

"I'll let a guy go first, for once." Namia conceded to letting Joey draw his sixth first.

"Alright, I'll set one card facedown and summon Battle Warrior (600/1000) in attack mode!" Joey smirked as a cybernetic man with pale skin and bluish armor appeared before him, one card facedown behind the thing. "Match that!" he added.

'Whoa, that think is way to weak to even be in his deck, what is he planning?"' Namia wondered to herself. She looked her hand over and took two cards from it. "First I activate Graceful Charity!" she slid three cards off her deck and looked them over before discarding two.

"Give me a break, drawing cards isn't going to help you win this duel!" Joey stated. He began cleaning his ear with a finger to show he was bored out of his blond head.

Namia slapped another card on her disk, and removed another from her graveyard slot. "Now I remove the previously discarded Fire Princess in my graveyard from play," she flashed the removed card before placing it in the pocket of the frilly suit she wore. "to special summon, Spirit of the Flames (1700/1000) in attack mode." A raging giant with fire behind him appeared. "Then I'll normal summon Little Chimera(600/550) to the field, and it boosts the attack of my Spirit of the Flames (2200/1000) and Little Chimera itself (1100/550) by 500 points!" she informed Joey.

"Uh, this doesn't really look like that much fun anymore…" Joey gulped as he saw the two powerful monsters on Namia's field.

"Now it's time to attack, Blow his monster away, Little Chimera (1100/550)!" A petit, yet still scary, cat with wings and flames around itself, blasted fire at the ready warrior.

"Say hello to my quick play magic card!" Joey interjected. "Activate, Angel Dice," Joey smirked and the same dice carrying creature that appeared in Sei's last duel, formed on the field and dropped the die. "let's see if you got luck on your side as well as skill!" Joey smirked as Namia growled.

"Don't forget, you still need a full six to beat my monster, you have a one in six chance of keeping that blue freak alive!" Namia yelled, obviously angry that Joey was acting so immature in a duel that had someone's soul on the line. Then she remembered he didn't know the full situation and calmed herself. The die had now been bobbing in the air for almost a minute. Slowly, but surely, it began to bounce lower and lower. Namia bit her lip.

Joey looked at the roll with satisfaction. "6, you know what that means!" the boy smirked. Battle Warrior (1200/1600) lunged away from the flames and split the Chimera in half with a kick. "You lose your power booster!" Joey cheered as Spirit of the Flames (2000/1000) lost some attack power.

"It still has more than enough to take out your battle warrior, especially when you consider he gains 300 attack points in my battle phase!" Namia informed Joey. Joey just shrugged as his monster was stomped on by a huge foot.

Joey-7200

Namia-7900

"I now end my turn!" Namia stated. The Spirit of the Flames (1700/1000) which had grown to a huge size when Namia began her battle phase, shrunk back to normal.

"Fine by me!" Joey drew and looked at the card. "I summon Baby Dragon (1200/700) in defense mode, then I end my turn." Joey stated for his turn. Namia drew and smirked.

"Don't you realize my monster will continue to get stronger during all of my battle phases, you can't defend!" Namia laughed as she set another card on her disk. "Then I also activate my Molten Destruction field card, which gives any fire monster 500 extra attack points!" Spirit of the Flames (2200/600) grew even larger and deadlier looking than before. Finally, I'll enter my battle phase, and blow away your Baby Dragon with my Spirit (2500/600)!" the raging beast swept it's horned head up and brought it down, breathing fire in the direction of orange dragon chibi. The poor thing immediately exploded in digital dust. "Done." Namia winked.

Joey began to sweat a little, but drew, his blue jean jacket swaying with the force he put behind his arm taking the card. 'Whoa, Jinzo, this card would normally really help, but now…"' Joey looked from the drawn Jinzo to the field. 'Okay, she has no facedown cards, and her freaky Spirit, while I have one facedown card. Oh, and she has that field magic card…."' the boy thought. He looked at the rest of his hand and his eyes went wide. 'Wait a minute.. That field card gives _all _fire monsters a boost!"' he smirked looking a card. "I summon Command Knight (1200/1900) in attack mode!" he smirked.

Namia looked at it's stats in puzzlement. "What is that thing supposed to do?" she asked.

"It's about to take your freaky fire giant down!" Joey smirked. "And all because of your own card!" Joey felt giddy at being able to use his opponent's strategy against her. "You see, my Command Knight is a fire monster, which means it gets 500 extra attack points!" The armored warrior, which had a ready look on it's face, grew stronger (1700/1500).

"Your monster still doesn't have enough power." Namia stated simply.

"Your right, but as long as its on the field, every warrior gains an additional 400 attack points!" Command Knight (2100/1500) grew even more powerful as Joey slid another card into the disk. "Then I activate, The A. Forces to give every warrior a 200 attack and defense boost for the amount of warrior and spell casters on the field !" The final increase gave Command Knight (2300/1700) just the charge it needed to win in it's newest fight. "Now Command Knight, wipe her monster out!" The pale warrior charged and sliced the head off of the Spirit (2200/600), issuing sounds of disgust from the audience. "Go." Joey smirked.

Joey-7200

Namia- 7800

* * *

Yami smiled at the latest turn. 'Alright, Joey's really showing her, and even though he's behind in LP, he seems to have the most control."' he thought to his counterpart.

'I just hope he wins!"' Yugi responded from the soul room.

* * *

"Damnit!" Shisei stood up from his special area in the stands with an angry look at the field.

"What!" Ryuko asked, jumping and dropping his previously bought hot dog.

"Namia!" Shisei responded as though it was obvious. "Look at how she's dueling," he began. Ryuko blinked up at the blond.

"What do you mean?" he asked, digging around in his pocket for money for another hot dog. "I think her moves have been pretty good." he frowned at Shisei's opinion of the duel.

"They have been, but she isn't playing like she's sure of herself, she's playing it too safe." he informed the younger duelist. When he received no other complaint or question, he looked over to Ryuko's seat. The seat was empty and Ryuko was gone.

* * *

Namia bit her lip and drew the next card. 'Damn, I knew I should have set this card, what's wrong with me?" Namia swallowed hard, trying to clear her head. The only thing she managed to do was think more about Kou though. "I can't quit!" she whispered. "Alright Joey, I'm about to show you real strength, if you can match it, then bring it on!" she slid a card onto her disk. "I summon Phoenix of Blue fire!" she smirked.

Joey's eyes went wide. 'That card."' he thought. 'No way, it can't be the same…. Maybe…"' his thoughts cut off as he looked at his deck.

"I use my monsters special ability, and pay 3500 LP!" her LP score drastically dropped, earning looks of awe from the crowd.

"Huh, what effect is worth that many LP, you could lose in a 4000 point duel." Joey stated in bewilderment. Namia smirked even bigger.

"This effect, I can special summon any phoenix with the attack value of the LP I pay, so I summon, Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500)!" Namia's favorite monster appeared, wings flapping golden fire as it descended the area. "Now I…" Namia began to declare it's effect, but she stopped. 'What if he makes it backfire or something… better play it safe!"' she slid another card into the disk. "I set this and have my Phoenix of Gold Fire (4000/3100) blow your Knight (2300/1700) away!" Flapping flames of gold, the beast hurled the knight into another dimension, along with a few of Joey's Lps. "And my Phoenix of Blue Fire (2000/1100) will attack you directly!" the second phoenix blasted Joey away with blue heat.

Joey-3500

Namia-4300

"Aw man." Joey gulped as Namia let him go. "Then this is it, your monsters are way to powerful…" Joey drew without much hope. He looked at the card and saw his last hope. "I'm about to summon one of my best monsters, and it's going to wipe the floor with your monster!" Joey smirked. Namia didn't flinch. "First I need the right cards, so I play Pot of Greed!" he drew twice, hoping this worked. "Alright, now I activate my facedown card, Graverobber, which let's me use Graceful Charity from your grave, at 2000 LP cost!" Joey was obviously praying that this next move worked.

Joey-1500

Namia-4300

"Alright!" he cheered, drawing three cards, then discarding two. "I got just what I needed, say hello to my own, Graceful Charity!" Joey smirked and did the same maneuver again.

"How is this helping you? Namia asked with a doubtful expression of Joey's victory on her face.

"You'll see. I also play Starblaster, which let's me roll a die!" Joey cheered as a half angelic, half demonic creature appeared and dropped a white die. The rolling and bouncing continued for a mere moment before… "Another 6, now I add one to the number I rolled, and special summon a monster of that level!" He took a card from his hand and slid it onto the disk. "Say hello the my Red Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) in attack mode!" Joey smirked and Namia yawned as Joey's monster appeared. "I'm still not done though, I now sacrifice my Red eyes for a more powerful monster than your phoenix." Joey grabbed a card and smirked. "The Darkness is here, I summon Red Eyes Darkness Dragon (2400/2000), in attack mode." the first red eyed dragon was replaced by a much deadlier one.

This dark dragon was a shimmering black one with a look of ferocious rage in its red eyes. It had scales of pure evil black and more power coming from it than any monster Namia's Phoenix had ever faced. The entire area was also steeped in darkness upon it's arrival. "Uh-oh." Namia said as the Dragon's attack strength, began to grow.…

_To Be Continued..

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**Next time: **The duel reaches highs the likes of which most have never seen, Namia manages to get her game together after having a few critical near defeats, and is ready to duel for real with a little help from Ryuko. But does she have enough luck to overcome Joey's next set of dice? Find out next time on Duel Monsters Maximum: Dragoon Island Tournament!

To Rex: There is only one thing you could do to upset me. And that is call me Francis, if you do that, I will hunt you down, rip open your stomach, and choke you with your own intestines. Good-bye! (skips away happily.)

To Darksoulki: Whoa, your good. I was actually thinking of Daichi when I made Ryuko. It helps if you imagine his loud voice as Ryuko's, makes things funnier if you ask me.


	40. Golden Phoenix Swordmaster

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

_Chapter 40: Golden Phoenix Swordmaster_

The Red Eyes Darkness Dragon that Joey had just previously summoned began to grow larger and larger and it's foreboding look increased as well. "Say hello to my Dragon's Special Ability. It gains 300 extra attack points for each dragon that's been laid to rest!" Joey smirked and removed 6 cards in his graveyard to show them to Namia. The Red Eyes Darkness Dragon (4200/2000) was now unbelievably strong.

"How did you get six dragons in your graveyard?" Namia looked in shock at the new monster's attack. Then she remembered when Joey used the Graceful Charity…twice. 'Of all the lucky draws, he got four dragons right there, then Red Eyes Black Dragon he tributed, and Baby Dragon I destroyed."' the female duelist mentally hit herself.

"Get it yet, you first destroyed my Baby Dragon, then with the effect of Graceful Charity I got to discard these dragons!" Joey smirked, then kissed the cards he showed to Namia. 'Thanks guys, I really needed that."' he thought, sliding his cards back into the graveyard. "Now my monster will blow your Phoenix of Bl-" Joey began, but suddenly he realized something. 'That Phoenix of Gold Fire has a high attack point count, but no way is that the only reason she summoned him…"' he looked at Namia's expressionless face.

"Well, which Phoenix will you take?" Namia asked with a smirk. Joey studied her field. He knew that by attacking her Phoenix of Blue Fire she'd receive a drastic amount of LP damage. But then she could use an effect of her remaining monster, which could be devastating. Then again, if the Gold Phoenix didn't have an effect.

"I attack your Phoenix of Gold Fire (4000/3100)!" Joey shouted. The Black dragon snorted as though this was hardly a challenge and blasted a large chunk of hot lava at the Phoenix, which screeched in pain as it melted. "And that ends my turn!" Joey cheered.

Namia-4100

Joey-1500

* * *

Osmos looked at the duel, for once not behind the closed doors of a dark room, but in a "throne" near the Stadium entrance. "Really now, if this Namia girl doesn't want to step it up a notch, then I might not even give poor Kou recognition." he yawned as though watching a disinteresting Soap Opera.

"Ahem." Kamishiro approached Osmos with a cough. "I meant to tell you sir…The Ryuko boy has disappeared from his seat in the stands." Kamishiro stated cautiously. Osmos didn't seem to hear him at first.

"WHAT!" he turned sharply to Kamishiro. "What do you mean, "disappeared"?" Osmos glared at the now cowering servant of his. "The next duel will either be Shisei, or himself vs. Mokuba Kaiba, find him as to make sure he doesn't interfere with anything." Osmos said testily. "You've already screwed up enough in this tournament Kamishiro, think maybe you can do something smart?" Osmos then turned back to the duel as Kamishiro bowed and left.

* * *

Ryuko smiled as he edged along the wall towards one of the central control rooms of the castle's stadium. 'If Namia doesn't want to try her best to save Kou on her own, then I'll give her a little extra encouragement."' he thought. 'Now if only I could figure out which one of the control rooms operate the speakers…"' he looked at the three rooms in front of him, none of them occupied. "I choose door number three!" he went into the third from the left and shut the door.

* * *

Namia drew her next card and looked at another of her Phoenix monsters, the Phoenix of Black Fire. "I switch my Phoenix of Blue Fire (2000/1100) into defense mode." she then slid another monster onto her disk. "Then I set this monster in defense mode. Go" Namia finished sadly.

Joey drew and smirked at the card. "I activate, Soul Exchange, and I use it to sacrifice you own Phoenix of Blue Fire, and Summon Jingo (2400/1500)!" There was a glowing of light from both sides of the field, then Namia's Phoenix cried out in shock as it was blown into an amorphous blob which eventually formed a chuckling Jinzo. "I have to skip my battle phase this turn, but next turn…" Joey put his thumbs up, then reversed the direction.

Namia glared at his monsters. She felt an amazing hatred boil up inside of her. A hatred for Joey and his monsters, a hatred for the monsters that had failed her, a hatred for the situation she was in. But above all else, she felt a deep shame and hatred toward herself for not being able to clear her head and…

"NAMIA!" the loudspeakers roared. The audience, which had previously been cheering Joey on, stopped cheering and looked around for the source of the noise. "DON'T YOU WANT TO SAVE KOU?" the voice was none other than little Ryuko's coming from the loudspeaker.

'Ryuko…"' Namia looked away.

"DON'T BE SO STUPID, KOU IS COUNTING ON YOU TO TRY YOUR BEST, NOT NECCESARILY WIN. WE JUST HAVE TO MAKE SURE HE DOESN'T LEAVE THIS WORLD IN VAIN!" Ryuko continued. Namia shook her head.

"But if I lose… I'll be putting all the pressure on you guys…" Namia responded. There was a silence, then they heard Ryuko snicker.

"OH, SORRY, I WAS JUST WATCHING A COMMERCIAL. IT'S SO FUNNY, OKAY, SO THIS DUDE GETS A TATOO…." Shisei, in the audience twitched and rose up.

"RYUKO, KEEP ENCOURAGING NAMIA YOU IDIOT!" he yelled. The people around him blinked in surprise. But they were even more surprised by Namia suddenly laughing.

"Um, are you guys okay…Up here?" Joey looked at Namia, raising his index finger and pointing to his forehead. Namia smirked and nodded.

"I'm much better than okay, I'm great." she began, changing the modes of her cards. "I just realized that no matter what happens, no matter what the situation, my friends and I will prevail. This duel won't come down to luck of the draw, it will be decided with the Flame of Destiny!" Namia smirked as her facedown monster disappeared. "So now I sacrifice my set monster, Flame Ruler, which counts as two sacrifices for a fire beast, to summon Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi (3300/2400) in attack mode!" she smirked.

"That monster will only go back to your hand at your end phase, and it doesn't have enough power…" Joey looked at Namia quizzically, but Namia only smirked.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about me Joey, I'll attack Jingo (2400/1500) now!" she smirked. The almost completely naked man smirked and punched Jinzo into pieces with a flaming fist. "Now I also activate Flame of Destiny!" The face-down card Namia held flipped and a large circle of fire appeared around the monsters.

Joey-600

Namia-4100

"What?" Joey looked at her newest card in shock. "What's happening to the field?" The flame circle began to widen as a giant holographic coin appeared.

"I just needed Jinzo out of the way so I could play my trap card, and it's a great trap indeed." Namia smirked as the coin flipped. "Here's what happens, the coin will flip and I'll call it, I call heads. Now my monster becomes the heads side and your remaining monster, Red Eyes Darkness Dragon (4200/2000) will become the tails. If it lands on heads, my monster survives the turn." she smirked.

"And my monster gets destroyed, eh?" Joey growled. He realized that with no cards in his hand now, he'd be monster less if this worked. 'But then again, so would she."' Joey smirked at this thought. 'I can still beat her if I draw the card I need."' he thought.

The coin, meanwhile, had been turning over in the air continuously. Namia and Joey watched as it hit the ground and bounced up for the final time to land on… Heads! "Yes!" Namia cheered as Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi (3300/2400) glowed and Red Eyes Darkness Dragon blew apart. "I set this card face-down and return my spirit monster to my hand, your move." Namia winked and Joey drew.

'Come on, bring me what I need."' he prayed. He peeked open an eye to see which card he got. His eyes went wider than it should have been possible. 'This could work too."' he thought. "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn!" Joey declared boldly.

"That it? Hope Yugi hasn't gotten as washed up as you." Namia laughed, but Joey didn't seem to care. 'Well, forget rattling him."' Namia thought. "Alright, I summon Raging Flame Sprite (100/200) in attack mode." A cute and childish mage with a cauldron full of boiling liquid appeared. "He can attack you directly and then gain 1000 attack points, so I'll attack you with him now!" Namia smirked as Joey's eyes went wide. He was suddenly blasted with a weak bit of boiling liquid in a water balloon.

Joey-500

Namia-4100

"OW! Hot hot hotttttttt!" Joey yelled, jumping up and down rapidly and earning blank stares from the audience. "That's it, my move?" Joey glared at Namia, who winked and nodded.

"Yeah, but next turn it's game over." Namia smirked.

Joey smirked a bit of his own as he drew. "You wish, I flip summon your defeat, Fiber Jar (500/500)!" Joey clenched his jaw and fist with his latest move and Namia's eyes went wide. "Now we combine all cards except those removed from play into our decks and draw five new cards!" Joey smirked and did so. Namia growled, but obliged as well. "And since it's still my turn, I activate Fusion Gate, and fuse Masaki the Legendary Swordsman, with Flame Manipulator to bring forth my favorite monster, Flame Swordsman (1800/1600)!" Joey cheered his monster on as it appeared. The blue armored, orange bladed warrior leapt forward. "Then I normal summon Alligator Sword (1500/1200) in attack mode, now both of my monsters attack!" Both an alligator with a long curved blade and the samurai lunged and slashed Namia.

Joey-500

Namia-800

"Ow." Namia stated simply as Joey set his last card face-down and ended his turn. "Fine, I draw!" Namia did so and smirked. "Alright, I activate Painful Choice!" Namia smirked and picked her deck up. Joey blinked in question.

"Um, mind giving me a little explanation?" Joey asked. Namia smirked and removed five cards from her deck.

"Simple, I remove five cards from my deck, you select one of them after I show you. The selected card goes to my hand, the rest are discarded." Namia explained. She held up the Phoenix cards. 'It doesn't matter which one he chooses, I can't lose!"' she smirked.

"I choose for you to take Phoenix of Blue Fire!" Joey declared. Namia nodded and discarded all but his chosen card.

"Now I set this monster in defense mode and three cards facedown." Namia did so and motioned for Joey to go.

"I've been wondering something ever since that first Phoenix came onto the field. Now I'm about to find out if what I wondered is true." Joey slid a card into his disk. "I activate Monster Reborn, and revive you Phoenix of Gold Fire (3500/3500)" Joey smirked.

"You don't even know what my set card it, and your ready to attack, should have expected something so reckless." Namia rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going to attack with your Phoenix." Joey took both Flame Swordsman and Phoenix of Gold fire off his disk. "I use Fusion Gate to remove these monsters from play, and special summon…" Joey had been itching to see if the fusion card he had gotten so long ago was really fusable by these two monsters. Namia's eyes went wide.

"This is it, thanks to your monster, I get to summon… Golden Phoenix Sword master (4000/4000) in at mode!" Joey's new monster was a proudly winged Flaming Swordsman whose armor was a golden color where it would normally have been blue. There was also a large and golden blazing blade that accompanied him.

"No way." Namia commented in utter shock.

"Yes way, I now use my monsters Special ability, I sacrifice Fusion Gate, my set card, and Alligator Sword (1500/1200) to destroy your middle and left set card and set monster!" Joey yelled, commanding his monster to do as he stated. The Swordmaster stabbed the cards Joey declared from his own field, gathering energy, he blasted the three cards on Namia's field away. "And for every one of your cards destroyed this way, you lose 200 LP!" Joey cheered as Namia lost 600 LP.

Joey-500

Namia-200

"Plus, I still haven't attacked, so my Sword master (4000/4000) will blow your LP a- WHAT?" Joey looked in shock as his Golden Phoenix Swordmaster was surrounded by a ring of bombs all attached to each other. "My monster!" Suddenly the beast exploded and Namia and Joey were blinded for a moment as their LP scores decreased.

Joey-0

Namia-0

"Sorry Joey, you chose the wrong cards to destroy, I played Ring of Destruction." Namia informed Joey as the match was a draw. The holograms suddenly disappeared and the audience clapped as Namia and Joey shook hands.

"That was amazing, I admit, I didn't expect to draw." Joey complimented, flashing the thumbs up, he gave Namia the Phoenix card he had revived from her graveyard. Namia accepted it, and then her eyes went wide when she realized there were two cards. "Keep it, I have a feeling you'll be needing it. Besides, I don't have the other fusion monster." Joey told the blond as she pocketed the Golden Phoenix Swordmaster.

"Thanks, I understand now why you're amongst the top in the world as a duelist, and I hope to duel you again." Namia shook Joey's hand and left the arena. Now the hatred she had felt for a short amount of time during the match, had turned into an incredible bliss at having not only a new card, but more importantly, a new friend by the name of Joey Wheeler.

* * *

**Next time:** The next duel, Mokuba vs. Ryuko is well underway. Not two seconds into the duel, however, Ryuko manages to bring his favorite card forth, and Seto now knows why the boy wants his own Blue Eyes. Will Kaiba manage to manipulate his way around poor Ryuko to claim the Blue Eyes Omega? Find out Next time (or the time after that) on Duel Monsters Maximum!

To Darksoulki: I'm not sure if your joking or not, considering Namia is about 2 feet taller than Rebecca and she has dark skin (as in she's black).

To john: Yep, she's a super freak alright, how many people do you know can come from London and not have the slightest bit of an accent?

To Rex: I never said I'd have to use my hands… (smiles evilly with hedge clippers in hands) But then again, what's the fun of it if your untouchable? (sighs and drops hedge clippers on toes.) OW! Son of a-Oh, sorry, to anyone else reading this besides Rex…REVIEW! (Damn hedge clippers, knew I should have hired someone for yard work)

Card Name: Golden Phoenix Swordmaster

Type: Fusion Effect/Fire/Divine Beast (LV 10)

Status/Atk/Def:4000/4000

Effect: "Flame Swordsman + Phoenix of Gold Fire" This monster can only be Fusion Summoned by fusing the above two monsters on your side of the field or in your hand. You may send as many cards on your side of the field to the graveyard to destroy cards on your opponent's side of the field equal to the cards you sent. Inflict 200 points of direct damage to your opponent's LP for each card your opponent lost this way. When this monster destroys a defense position monster as a result of battle, inflict direct damage to your opponent's LP equal to the attack of the destroyed monster. When this monster attacks with an attack higher than the defense of your opponent's defense position monsters, inflict the difference in battle damage to your opponent's LP. (Deals damage through defense) This card is destroyed at the End Phase of the turn it is Special Summoned, at that time, you may special summon one Phoenix Egg (0/0) token to your field.

Don't ask me how they'd fit all that on a card, but those are the effects of Namia's newest monster. If there are any other monsters you want stats from me for, then just ask (in a review). If you wish to use a card of mine, just give me credit and all and it's all good. Sayonara.


	41. Dueling Don't Run in the Family

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

_Chapter 41: It Doesn't run in the Family_

Ryuko smiled slightly at the outcome of the previous match. 'Well, guess this means me and Kaiba rumble."' Ryuko smirked, anxious to win the Blue-Eyes White Dragons from Kaiba. Little did he know he wouldn't be facing the Kaiba who owned the Blue-Eyes cards…

* * *

Mokuba Kaiba looked out at the large audience and gulped. 'This is just like a school play, how does big brother do this all the time?" he thought, looking around at the audience nervously. Seto Kaiba hed requested a higher up seat to watch his brother duel, he had given Mokuba tips and tricks he knew of, and let him use the massive supply of Duel Monsters cards Kaiba held. However much he asked, however, Mokuba couldn't persuade his brother to give him even one of the three Dragons which so many wanted.

"I assume everyone is ready for the next match?" Kamishiro asked the audience. The large crowd of people cheered, of course Shisei and Namia didn't really feel like cheering much at the moment, they were looking through the crowd at eye level for Ryuko. "Then we'll go now. First things first, however, while Mr. Seto Kaiba is an extremely skilled duelist," Kamishiro began, pointing towards Kaiba in the stands. People turned around and saw the young CEO with his arms crossed and focusing on his little brother. "he wished for his younger brother, Mokuba Kaiba, to shine and make his own dueling reputation today." Kamishiro swept his arm out and pointed to Mokuba, who conquered his fear quickly and stepped up the ring.

"Well, looks like Ryuko just might stand a chance." Namia said, shocked to see the replacement of one Kaiba with another. 'He better win, so far as I know, this kid can't duel worth crap."' she thought, referring to Mokuba.

"I'MMMMMMMMMMMM HEEEEEEEERRRRRRREEEEEEE!" A loud voice made everyone in the dueling complex turn around and blink in surprise as they saw Ryuko glide down from his previous sound booth, rush past Namia and Shisei, who he flashed the thumbs up, and jump onto his spot in the arena. "Ready Kaiba, I plan to -who the hell are you?" Ryuko had raised a finger and pointed it at Mokuba before he registered it wasn't the right Kaiba brother.

"I'm Mokuba Kaiba, Seto Kaiba's younger brother." Mokuba said, almost automatically. Ryuko's shoulders slumped and he looked down.

"Aw, man, I really wanted to duel the _good_ Kaiba!" Ryuko moaned and Mokuba growled. Kaiba up in the stands blinked at the brown haired boy that wanted his Blue-Eyes collection and insulted his brother. "Instead I get some kid." Ryuko pouted, obviously not realizing he and Mokuba were about the same age, give or take a few months.

"Well don't think it'll be all fun for me, having to duel a loser like you and all." Mokuba interjected, readying his newly made, never truly tested (he always went against his brother's real deck, which he knew he couldn't beat), and stepped up to the plate.

Ryuko sighed and his disk folded out as well. "Fine, I'll whoop you, but make it quick." he requested. The audience laughed, clearly thinking because Mokuba was related to Kaiba he'd easily whoop this other midget.

Mokuba-8000

Ryuko-8000

Mokuba drew first and smirked. "Okay, I'll summon Element Valkyrie (1500/1200) in attack mode, and I end my turn there." Mokuba smirked. Ryuko's eyes narrowed as he drew his card.

"I'll summon Red Eyes B. Chick (800/500) in attack mode." A cute, cuddly baby dragon with red scales appeared. "It has the potential to destroy that want-to-be witch." Ryuko said, pointing to the winking Valkyrie of Mokuba's. "But first I need one more card, so I play Tiny Pound Hammer, and shuffle my entire hand back into my deck." Ryuko did so, drawing the same amount of cards as his Magic card stated he should.

"What are you doing, loser, face it, your _want-to-be_ dragon can't stand up to the power of my..um, Element deck, yeah, Element!" Mokuba said, trying to find the best words to describe his deck. Ryuko slid his chick off of his own disk and placed another card down.

"Your pathetic, I use my monsters Special Ability, now that I have a Red Eyes Black Dragon in my hand, I can send this baby to the graveyard and summon it!" Ryuko smirked and did so. A new Red Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) this one fully formed, appeared with a growl at Mokuba.

"Hey, how did you know you'd draw Red Eyes!" Mokuba asked as Ryuko played another card.

"I didn't, but my dragons never really have let me down, so I put faith in them and summoned my chick." Ryuko smiled. "So now see the power that my deck really holds, I activate another card I didn't even imagine getting, Inferno Fire Blast!" Ryuko's dragoon began to fly higher and higher, eventually reaching the roof of the stadium. "Now say sayonara, because my magic card allows one Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000) to attack your LP directly!" The flying dragon blasted chunks of red hot lava and earth at poor Mokuba.

Mokuba-5600

Ryuko-8000

"Ow…" Mokuba started as the illusion disappeared and Ryuko let his opponent draw. "I'll show you!" Mokuba protested to losing so many LP so early. He drew his next card and looked up in the stands to see his big brother. 'I will win, you trusted me Seto, I won't let you down!"' he thought. "I summon.."

Shisei yawned at the match. "Man, this is so boring, wish Ryuko would just finish the kid off already." Shisei said. Namia looked over to the boy.

"You sound really sure of yourself by saying he'll win, you do realize he could lose?" Namia told the other blond. Shisei only smiled at the female.

"Hey, I understand that I'm not saying he could win against Kaiba, though he actually might be able to…" Shisei began to think of the outcome of a match against Kaiba and Ryuko and smirked. 'Yeah, Ryuko would get his butt handed to him."' he thought.

"Well, what are you saying about his skill?" Namia asked. Shisei only shrugged and Namia rolled her eyes.

Seto Kaiba glared at the match as he saw his brother was losing to some overly active midget wearing one of his duel disks. 'Damn monkey, then he had the nerve to want my Blue-Eyes White Dragons."' Kaiba growled. 'Come on Mokuba, you can win."' Kaiba was positive of this as the duel continued.

Ryuko watched as Mokuba slammed another card onto his disk. "I start by summoning my Element Soldier (1500/1200), in defense mode, then I switch Element Valkyrie (1500/1200) to defense. Finally, I set this card facedown, go." Mokuba wiped sweat from his brow as Ryuko drew with an evil look on his young face.

"Alright, I start with the Armed Dragon LV 3 (1200/900) in attack mode, then I activate Burst Breath," Ryuko injected another card into his disk and his Armed Dragon began to glow with energy. "this allows me to tribute one dragon type monster on my field to destroy all monsters on the field with defensive values equal to or lower than the tributed dragon's attack!" Armed Dragon LV 3 (1200/900) lunged with lots of hyperactivity into the center of the ring, where it promptly blew up.

"Not again!" Mokuba moaned as he realized he would be suffering another direct attack by his opponent. He braced himself as the Red Eyes Black Dragon Reared it's head back and blasted flames and lava at Mokuba again.

Mokuba-3200

Ryuko-8000

"Having fun yet?" Ryuko snickered and slid another card into his duel disk. "I end my turn with this card face-down." Ryuko yawned, pretending to be more bored than he was as Mokuba drew his next card.

'I can't screw up now!"' Mokuba thought. "Alright, I set this monster in defense mode, your move!" Mokuba held his breath as Ryuko drew.

"Well I didn't expect you to be a challenge, so now I'll show you true power!" Ryuko smirked and his face down card flipped as Mokuba's turn ended. "Say hello to Call of the Haunted, I use it's effect to Special Summon my Armed Dragon LV 3 (1200/900) back to the field, and now that it's my turn, I draw!" Ryuko did so. "Approaching my Standby Phase I sacrifice my Armed Dragon for it's higher up, Armed Dragon LV 5 (2400/1700) in attack mode!" Ryuko then slid another card down.

"What is all this supposed to be doing?" Mokuba asked, though he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.

"Simply watch, and you shall see." Ryuko pressed an activation button on his disk and his newest monster growled and grew larger. When the Armed Dragon had first appeared, it was a scrawny, yet still spiky and growling dragon, now it had grown to become a kind of adolescent with larger, deadlier spikes and a new barrage of weapons in its skin as well. "I activate Level Up! And get rid of my new armed dragon for the Armed Dragon LV 7 (2800/1000) in attack mode!" the newest beast wasn't one you wanted to cross, looking as threatening as the Red Eyes and then some, it snapped ferociously at Mokuba. Ryuko took both of his remaining cards off of his disk. "Now behold, the reason I want the Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards, the reason Kaiba will duel me for all three will be because of the card I hold now, I need to sacrifice two level 7 or higher dragons." Ryuko showed his opponent Red Eyes and Armed Dragon.

"Wha-what card makes you do that?" Mokuba gulped as he heard thunder and lightning growl outside of the stadium. Kaiba, up in the stands frowned in wonder as to what this card could be that he'd challenge a want-to-be duelist such as Ryuko.

"Say hello, to the Blue-Eyes Omega Dragon (3500/3000) in attack mode!" At first nothing happened, then the ground burst open and the Blue eyed dragon appeared, it's pearly white scales bearing odd markings that meant "end" in different languages. "Only one of this card exists, and its in my deck." Ryuko smirked.

'That can't be…"' Seto Kaiba looked at his brother's defeat in more shock than his brother. 'Pegasus only made five variations of the Blue-Eyes total, and that's including the Shining Dragon!"' Kaiba felt giddy with excitement, after the initial shock anyways. 'This kid thinks he can beat me, so he'll ante up that card, and when I have it…."' Kaiba turned to look at Yami, who he thought of as Yugi, with a smirk. 'Let's hope this card isn't pathetic."' he thought to himself.

Mokuba gulped as the Dragon on Ryuko's field roared and blasted his set card away. "By the way, when my monster is normal summoned, he destroys all cards on the field but himself." Ryuko informed his opponent. Mokuba fell to his knees as he saw how powerful the beast across from him was and knew he had nothing to defend with.

"Finish it." he requested. Ryuko nodded.

"I attack your LP directly with Blue Eyes Omega Dragon (3500/3000)!" the beast swept open it's wings and flew up into the air, where it promptly blasted Mokuba to pieces.

Mokuba-0

Ryuko-8000

Shisei clapped at Ryuko's amazing feat of beating Mokuba with all his LP in tact. "Good job!" Shisei rushed into the stadium and clapped his friend on the back. Just as Kamishiro was about to announce Yami vs. Shisei as the next match, Kaiba's shadow loomed over all those in the stadium.

"That was an interesting card. Where did you get it?" Kaiba asked Ryuko with his familiar evil smirk apparent on his face. Ryuko stood up with a smirk, ready to claim "what was his." Namia's eyes went wide and she grabbed his small arm to keep him away from Kaiba.

"Ryuko, don't you dare!" she said. She didn't want Kaiba to humiliate the poor boy, but Ryuko wrenched from her grasp and held up his deck, re shuffling it and inserting it into his duel disk as Kaiba looked at him oddly.

"I suppose this means you challenge me to a duel, huh?" Ryuko asked what he thought was a rhetorical question.

Kaiba tossed back his head and laughed. It took him a good two minutes to stop. "You really are serious aren't you? I have no intention of _dueling_ for that card, a brat like you just doesn't deserve to own it. Hand it over." Kaiba commanded and that's where Joey and Yami jumped in.

"What's wrong Kaiba, to scared to duel Yugi so your picking on little kids now!" Joey asked with his fist ready to rip Kaiba a new one. Kaiba turned and rolled his eyes at Joey.

"Didn't I give you your bone for today?" he asked. Yami then walked directly up to Kaiba as well, as Shisei and Namia took Tristan's normal job of holding Joey back.

"You have no right to take a card just because you want it, if you wish for it then you must duel." Yami said and Kaiba snorted.

"Have it your way, I'll be using the card I acquire to defeat you anyway." Kaiba raised his duel disk and it clicked into place as though connected to his thoughts. "Are you ready kid, get that card out now." Kaiba smirked as Kamishiro walked up to the podium.

"Well here you have it folks, instead of skipping to the last round of the special session, this will give everyone a little bit of time to buy popcorn and give me time to tell you that the score stands at World Champions-0 and New Losers-1!" Kamishiro stated over the loud roar. Shisei and Joey suddenly swapped roles as Shisei lunged at Kamishiro for being called "New Losers".

Kaiba smirked as he shuffled his deck and slid it into the disk. "This is it kid, and win I win, you'll be giving me the only thing of value in your entire deck!" Kaiba laughed as he drew his opening hand.

**Next time:** Ryuko and Kaiba's match lasts for little more than a few minutes before someone wins something important. However, as the final match draws near, Shisei is ready to duel for his and Kou's life. Speaking of the young swordsman, he gets a chance to show what he's worth away from Osmos's eyes. It's Kou vs. Shadow/Ryuko vs. Kaiba/Shisei vs. YamiYugi. Who will win in these exciting match ups? Find out next time on Duel Monsters Maximum!

A/N: Yes, the long awaited return of Kou is next chapter, ah, we missed him. But anyway, keep reviewing and reading, bye!

To Rex: Yeah, well you Japanese people...YOU GUYS ROCK MAN! WO-HOOO! Party at Rex's house, BYOB!

To John: You gonna eat that stapler? Wanna split it?

To Darksoulki: I really have nothing to say, I just want this to be over 2000 words...almost, nope, closer, AH-HA! 2001


	42. Waking up Dead

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

_Chapter 42: Waking up Dead_

Kouichi Nandao opened his violet eyes and moaned from his headache. 'Where am I?"' he looked around to see where he was and all the details of the day before came back to him. 'Oh yeah, I'm in hell…."' he sighed and glimpsed his surroundings.

He looked to be in a cemetery of sorts, there were many things that didn't look as though they belonged anywhere on the human realm. Coffins lined with red velvet and red decapitated bodies of odd creatures. Small gremlin like things occasionally ran by him. 'Chiro, do you know where we are?"' Kou asked his alter ego. 'Wait!"' Suddenly the thoughts of Chiro losing to Kamishiro came to him and he realized that Chiro was already dead, according to Kamishiro. 'He's…dead."' Kou fell to his knees in defeat, he had lost the duel and was now stuck in this odd realm, Kamishiro would be free to go after his friends easily.

Just as he had given up, a loud sound, like the chime of a clock, escaped into the air around him and the cemetery. Kou looked up and saw in the distance a large oddly figured clock. 'Don't have anything else to try, I always wanted to die in a clock tower anyway."' Kou thought dejectedly. He picked himself up off the ground and walked farther into the shroud of mists encircling the strange place.

* * *

Kaiba rolled his eyes as he tried to remind himself why he was dueling a kid. 'Oh yeah, Yugi would probably pull one of his sideshow victories off without that Blue Eyes card the kid has."' he remembered. Ryuko was jumping up and down in excitement, he was going to get the three Blue-Eyes cards he always wanted.

"Want me to go first, or do you-" Ryuko began, but was suddenly bashed on the head by Shisei. "OW! What the heck did you do that for! Loser!" Ryuko glared at the taller and older blond boy. Shisei rolled his eyes and ignored the insult.

"I did that because this is really stupid." Sei explained as though it was obvious. Namia approached the boys, having a hunch of what Sei was going to tell Ryuko, she wanted to reinforce his opinion as she agreed with him.

"Shisei's right," she began, getting a glare from Ryuko. "this match is going to be way to hard for you, and if you lose, which will most likely happen," she continued. Ryuko still hadn't stopped glaring. "then you'll lose your Grandfather's heirloom. Do you really want that to happen?" Namia looked at the boy, waiting for an answer.

"I'm just trying to do what my grandfather wanted, and let him rest with all of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon cards!" Ryuko retorted. Shisei sighed and bonked Ryuko again. "WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT!" Ryuko asked with a growl and a half glare, considering Sei's hand was still firmly atop his head, he couldn't look up to do a full glare.

"I did that one because your grandfather probably wants you to keep that card, not risk losing it to some puddle of slime." then, with a look at Kaiba, he added: "No offense." Kaiba only rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded an awful lot like "dorks".

"Look kid, I didn't stand a chance against Kaiba when I dueled him, and, I hate to say it, but Yugi came pretty close to losing whenever they duel." Joey added. Ryuko growled even louder, then kicked Shisei in the knee and hopped away before anyone could stop him.

"I'm dueling this loser, and that's final!" Ryuko activated his disk and everybody gulped.

* * *

Kou sighed, having finally reached the tower he discovered that it was, not only closed, but there was no entrance to it at all. No doors, windows, nothing. Instead of making a ruckus by breaking in through solid wall he decided to freeze his butt off in the cold. 'Okay, I think I'll make a ruckus now."' he thought. Lifting himself up, he walked into the cemetery to look for a grave digging tool, like a shovel, pickaxe, anything he could use.

That was when he saw them. Two gravestones that were decorated beautifully. There was a pit of soil where the coffin would go in one of them, in other words, it was void of a dead person. The other already had a coffin in it by the looks of the grass growing in front of it. But the gravestones or the graves weren't the things that scared Kou. It was the names on them. 'Chiro, Kouichi…"' he gulped and tried not to look at the one marked with his name. BAM. There was a sudden burst of soil and chunks of rock into the air as Chiro's coffin rose from the grave. Kou gulped and approached it slowly. It had no lid, so he could clearly see Chiro's body, pale and lifeless.

"I think he looks better that way, don't you?" a voice, deep and mellow, asked from the darkness of the mysterious cemetery. Kou jumped literally ten feet into the hair.

"AGHHH!" he came back down and unsheathed his blade, looking around the darkness for his "attacker". There was no one near him. Yet.

"I see your easy to scare, better produce a form then…" Suddenly, one of the other coffins burst through the ground and opened to have man in a black cloak smile as he appeared. "Welcome to the depths of the Shadow Realm. Most human souls cannot take the pressure of being in such a mystical place." the mysterious cloaked man began. Kou just wanted to cut him in half and run as far away from the "dead" body as possible.

"Why am I able to survive then?" he asked this instead of slicing him in half madly.

"You are dead." the shadowed man said calmly. Kou blinked.

"WHAT!" he yelled in question at the man.

"Well, for the time being, but I am willing to give you a chance to return to the realm of the living." the man replied to Kou's surprise.

Kou jumped at that chance. "Okay, what do I do?" he asked. He didn't really care about the details of this realm, if he was dead, than he'd be trapped here forever anyway, and that was apparently the worst of the Shadow Realm's magic.

"First of all, if you choose to take this task, you will be fighting for the Seal Holder," the man pointed to Chiro, laying as stiff as any dead man. "as well." he stated. Kou almost forgot to ask about saving Chiro.

"Of course I want to save him, just tell me how." Kou said, now the fear of being trapped here was erased. His new fear, however, was that he wouldn't win and that Chiro would forever remain in this horrible place, in a slumber of a coffin.

"My challenge is a duel, you have already faced Oracle, no?" the man asked, receiving a nod in reply. "Then prepare, for now you must face your darker side, I am Shadow, and my Demons will demolish your soul from this realm!" Shadow laughed evilly and Kou smirked.

"I'm all to used to crazy idiots by now, so bring on the pain!" his deck was inserted into a duel disk he didn't remember having, and Shadow smirked as the field around them shifted to accommodate the duel. "Let's get this show on the road." Kou drew first.

* * *

Ryuko yawned as Kaiba drew. Kaiba looked his hand over and smirked. "Sorry our duel couldn't have lasted longer kid." he stated.

Ryuko glared. "No way you drew an opening combo that could beat me!" he growled at Kaiba's arrogance.

"If you say so." Kaiba calmly put a card on his disk. "I summon Cyber-Stein (700/500) in defense mode." An odd Frankenstein like monster appeared and moaned.

"I can see this is going to devastate me." Ryuko muttered sarcastically.

"It will, I activate my monsters Special Ability now! I pay 5000 LP!" Kaiba smirked and his beast shrieked, decreasing his LP.

Kaiba-3000

Ryuko-8000

Ryuko snickered as Kaiba removed a card from his side deck. "Now I can Special Summon any monster from my fusion deck. Say hello, to the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800) in attack mode!" Kaiba laughed with joy and pride at having his mightiest beast on the field.

"You bastard, how dare you use that card! For this, I'll defeat you slowly!" Ryuko threatened. Kaiba rolled his eyes at Ryuko.

"You won't be defeating me in this match, and probably not any other. Now I play Megamorph, and because of Cyber-Stein's effect, I have lower LP that yours increasing Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's (9000/3800) attack by double!" Kaiba laughed hysterically as he played yet another card. "It's over, I activate Quick Attack, allowing my greatest beast to attack you directly right now!" Ryuko had prayed that he got something good on his next turn, as he knew Kaiba couldn't attack this turn. Then his eyes went wide when Kaiba had activated Quick Attack.

Kaiba-12000

Ryuko-0

"Ho-how did you!" Ryuko fell to his knees in defeat as he saw the LP score.

"I chained your demise with my Mystik Wok, which allowed me to sacrifice Blue-Eyes Ultimate to make sure I didn't lose any LP to a wretch like you. Now give me that card." Kaiba demanded. Shisei was about to protest, but Yami shook his head. Ryuko felt tears in his eyes as he handed the betted card to the young CEO standing over him. "Thank-you. Perhaps next time you'll learn not to insult the Kaiba family, or ever to challenge me to a duel." Kaiba smirked and left towards Mokuba, who had been whistling and cheering for the whole minute and a half the duel lasted.

"Osmos, I've entertained your guest, that loser," Kaiba began, pointing at Shisei. "won't beat Yugi, so I think we can all forget about this pathetic tournament, I already have." with this said, the brown haired boy left the stadium with his little brother in tow, not halfway out the door before calling his private helicopter to the seen to pick them up. Shisei glared as he disappeared and helped Ryuko to his feet.

"Looks like you guys were r-right." Ryuko sniffled. Then he trudged to his place on the sidelines, looking away from his deck and yet still looking at the floor in defeat. Namia pushed Sei forward for his match.

"Don't worry, I'll cheer him up…somehow, you have to win against Yugi!" Namia smiled weakly. She knew this was Shisei's greatest ambition since he got into Duel Monsters. He always wanted to stand amongst the top as the King of Games (and puzzles) but now, when so much was at stake….

'I can't give up though."' the blond boy nodded and reported to the center of the arena, switching his deck with the one he perfected the night before.

"Are you ready to finish this, Mr… um?" Yami began, puzzled by not knowing Sei's name.

"Shisei Aragashi, and your Yugi Moto." Shisei stated. Yami nodded. "Then I suppose we should start huh?" Shisei readied his disk and Yami did the same. This was his dream, dueling against the best and brightest in the dueling world. But, for some odd reason, it just wasn't the same as he had pictured it.

* * *

**Next time**: The duels between Shisei and Yami and Kou and Shadow are more than stressful for the boys, but Kou's is truly stretching. Dealing with the deadly influence of the Shadow Depths, he focuses as hard as he can to contain whatever evils are buried inside of himself,. Meanwhile, Shisei is all duel and no talk… And he's shockingly winning with a new strategy that not many have seen act so perfectly. But when Yugi brings an Egyptian God card to the field, Sei's in for it. Can the best of friends prevail in their duels when they aren't together? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum. 


	43. Yami and Shadow Pt1

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

_Chapter 43: Yami and Shadow Pt.1_

Shisei looked across the arena to his greatest opponent yet. Yugi Moto. He looked at his Yugi defeater deck's hand and smirked. 'Duel time."'

"I'll let you go first, as I hold the title." Yami told Sei. Shisei could tell by how his voice sounded that he was just stating a fact, not trying to sound snobbish by talking about his title.

"Alright, I start with three cards facedown," Sei began. Namia smiled at this normal play. "then this monster in defense mode, go." Shisei finished. Namia blinked in surprise, Shisei was obviously using a new deck, if he had a defense monster to set. "Don't go easy on me Yugi, I made this deck specifically to beat you!" Shisei smirked as Yami drew his card.

"I have no intention of doing such," he showed Sei three cards. "I activate Polymerization, to fuse Gazelle, King of Mythical Beasts, with Berfomet in my hand!" Yami removed a card from his fusion deck while sliding two monsters into his graveyard slot. "Behold, Chimera, the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1800)!" A great beast with two heads and a winged body appeared and glared at Shisei's facedown card. "Now I can continue by removing my Gazelle from play, and summon: The Rock Spirit (1700/1000) in an attack position as well!" Another special summoned monster, this one having a gladiator's axe and armor, appeared.

"Whoa, looking good so far, think you can keep it up?" Shisei mocked the world champion as though it was done everyday. Yami smirked, glad that he was on friendly terms with Sei, rather than be like Ryuko and Kaiba.

"I shall try, after all, why would anyone admire a one turn wonder? I attack your defense monster with the Rock Spirit!" Yami declared, his gladiator charging in and slashing the set card in half to reveal a disgusting worm. "What was that!" Yami voiced his shock as five cards on his deck were blasted with quills from the caterpillar like worm.

"Needle worm (700/500), whenever he's flipped, you lose 5 cards from your deck," Shisei responded to the shock with a casual answer.

"I see, then I attack you directly wi-" Yami was cut off as a giant hurricane swept his monsters off of the field. "NO CHIMERA!" Yugi yelled in shock and looked over to Sei, who had flipped up two cards.

"I activated my Special Hurricane and Forced Requisition cards. First off, I discard a card to activate the effect of Special Hurricane, which blows all special summoned monsters away!" Sei told Yami, who took his already vanquished monsters off the disk and discarded them. "Next up, Forced Requisition, after it's activation, makes you discard a card whenever I discard a card!" Shisei smirked.

"Your trap card's effect doesn't work yet!" Yami reminded Sei, who nodded to show he already knew. "And because you destroyed Chimera, I gain Berfomet (1400/1800) back in attack mode!" Yami smirked. "I still haven't ended my battle phase, attack his LP directly, Berfomet (1400/1800)!" a four armed and oddly fashioned beast appeared and bum rushed Shisei back a few feet. "That ends my turn." Yami stated.

Shisei-6600

Yami-8000

"Pretty good Yami, but I aim to be better, my move!" Shisei smirked as he flipped a card off of his deck.

* * *

Kou watched as Shadow drew his opening hand and then did the same. "Are you going first?" Kou asked.

"I shall, it doesn't matter for you won't beat me." Shadow smirked evilly and drew his sixth card. "I summon the mighty Hell Soldier (1200/1000) in attack mode then I set these two cards into a facedown position on my field. Show me if you can tame the darkness within you." Shadow said.

"I'm assuming that means its my turn." Kou stated, not understanding Shadow's lingo. "Now I summon Marauding Captain (1200/400) in attack mode!" A silver armored soldier appeared to oppose the almost zombie like one across from him on Shadow's field. "I use my creatures effect and Special Summon a level four monster from my hand, say hello to Mataza the Zapper (1300/800) in attack mode!" One of Kou's most frequented monsters appeared and smiled at him, then his face hardened as he grabbed his samurai sword.

"A dark monster, your letting the darkness take you. Control it or you will lose." Shadow informed Kou. Speaking in such a deep voice he sounded wise and mystical. He reminded Kou of one of the blind or limb missing, or just plain old martial artists in movies that always taught the really strong people.

"Yeah yeah, unfortunately for me my favorite card is a dark monster, looks like I have to burn my deck, huh?" Kou rolled his eyes and placed a card into his magic and trap slot. "I won't lose if me and Chiro's lives are on the line, got that? I attack _your_ dark monster!" Kou smirked as Mataza (1300/800) lunged and used an odd bushido strike to slice the Hell Soldier (1200/1000) apart.

Kou-7900

Shadow-7900

"Unfortunately for you, my monster has a special ability which decreases your LP along with mine when you destroy him in battle." Shadow didn't sound mystical anymore, just bored. Kou growled and bared his fangs. "Not only am I bored, but I also activate a card which will make you look even more pathetic than you are, Emergency Provisions to destroy my facedown card and gain 1000 LP." Shadow yawned.

Kou-7900

Shadow-8900

"You call me a loser? Those cards were your last defenses!" Kou smirked and raised a finger to point at him. "So now my Mataza (1300/800) will use his ability and attack your LP as he gets two attacks!" Kou's monster rushed forward, but was met with brief glimmer of light, which was a defensive monster.

"Fool, I had Statue of the Wicked as a facedown trap, and its effect states that when it's destroyed while facedown, I can bring a Wicked Token (1000/1000) to the field in whatever position. You would have done better in a circus." Shadow snickered as Kou glared.

"I still get another attack, now Marauding Captain (1200/400) take away more of his LP!" Kou commanded. Just as though he was listening to his general at war times, the monster launched itself forward and slashed his opponent's LP down. "You can go now." Kou wiped sweat from his brow at such a long move as Shadow rolled his eyes and drew his next card.

Kou-7900

Shadow-7700

* * *

Shisei smirked as he drew his next card. "Alright Yugi, I'm going to show you my real stuff, activate Graceful Charity, I draw three cards, and discard two!" Shisei smirked and Yami gasped as he realized what this meant.

'He basically gets to draw a card, and because of Forced Requisition I have to discard two cards like I had played Graceful Charity!"' Yami growled and sent the rest of his hand to the graveyard.

"Figure out my deck type yet Yugi? If you have nothing to work with, then you can't make a comeback!" Shisei smirked and flipped his facedown card. "Now I activate Card of Sanctity, we replenish our hands!" Shisei took four cards from the top of his deck and Yami did the same with narrowed eyes.

"What are you planning now, Shisei?" Yami asked aloud, only to receive a smirk.

"I activate Card Destruction as well!" Shisei smirked and discarded his entire hand with Yami, then they drew until they had six. "Your going to lose soon Yugi. I set one more monster in defense mode and activate The Cheerful Coffin, now I discard three monster cards, as do you. Set this card, and I'm done." Shisei said, he took three cards from his hand, held them up so Yami could see they were monsters, then deposited them into the graveyard slot.

Yami glared at him and turned to his deck to draw. His eyes went wide as he looked at the meager stack of cards. 'Oh no, because of his combos, I haven't been able to draw cards and keep them. He probably has even more ways of making me lose cards and decking out!" Yami gulped as he realized how much of a competitor Shisei Aragashi was. "I start now with Pot of Greed!" Shisei saw Yami play the card, and then draw on card. It was starting to draw the next one that he saw Yami's eyes go wide, as though he was just shocked by his disk.

'What was that?"' Sei wondered with a frown.

"I now activate Monster Reborn, and revive my Chimera (2100/1800)!" Yugi smirked and slid an ejected monster card onto the slot of his disk. "Then I activate Brain Control, and seize your monster as mine!" Yami pointed at the defensive monster as it flipped over to reveal Mystical Elf (800/2000) which lumbered over to his field.

"Oh no." Shisei gulped as he realized the only reason Yami would want three monsters on the field at the same time. 'Please say I'm wrong."' he prayed.

"Now, Shisei, I sacrifice all three of my beasts, and bring forth, the Winged Dragon of Ra (4400/5600) in attack mode!" The sky began to rumble and thunder hit the stadium from outside, making people scream and cheer as a humongous dragon appeared and crashed into the roof as though a hologram couldn't depict it properly. Shisei glared at the dragon. He wouldn't let it stop him from saving Kou. The only problem was, he didn't know how he could stop it.

* * *

Kou smirked, waiting to be able to taunt his opponent after being insulted so much of his own. "What's wrong, having trouble deciding how to lose?" Kou laughed hardily as Shadow slid a card into his dark duel disk.

"I'm having no trouble at all deciding how you should fall to my monsters, thanks for asking though." Shadow retorted, earning another glare from Kou. "Now I activate the magic of Frontline Base. This allows me to special summon a union monster from my hand on my main phase. So I summon Giant Orc (2200/0) in attack mode, but that was a normal summon. Now behold, I specially summon the Second Goblin (100/100) and I equip him to my Giant Orc (2200/0)!" Shadows two monsters, one a minute goblin that looked sourly at Kou, and the other one a large and beer gutted beast with a club, appeared. Then the small one attached itself to the leg of the fat one, looking scared of Kou's monsters.

"Wow, a midget and a fat pig, I'm frightened." Kou yawned.

"I thought you'd react that way, that's why I play my Offerings to the Doomed magic card!" Shadow laughed evilly as Kou realized his new problem. Marauding Captain (1200/400) stops monsters from attacking warriors, so it was essentially his perfect defense. But Offerings to the doomed destroys a monster if his opponent would be willing to skip a draw phase. "Now I offer your Marauding Captain as an offering to make sure the demons of the night don't haunt me, then I attack your pathetic Zapper (1300/800)!"

Kou-7000

Shadow-7700

"And normally my monster would be unable to change modes, but because of the advantage of Second Goblin in its Union form," Shadow motioned to the midget goblin, which bit the fat one on the leg as it was about to fall to a defensive position. "I can change my beast back during a Main Phase, which I just did. Go." Shadow commanded as Kou drew his card with a growl.

"I don't care what happens, I-WILL-NOT-LOSE!" Kou slid his top card from his deck and looked at it with a greater amount of determination than before. "It's now my move, and I activate the Warrior Returning Alive card, and return Marauding captain to my hand!" Kou took his monster back as Shadow rolled his eyes, though you couldn't see him doing it. "I summon him (1200/400) in defense mode, and use his special ability to bring forth the Hayabusa Knight (1000/700) in defense mode as well!" Kou gulped, but ended his turn. The field wouldn't change at all on Shadow's next turn as his Offerings to the Doomed made him skip his draw phase, and attacking would be pointless with Kou's defense monsters.

"As I can't make any change to the field nor your LP, I have to end my turn, but beware, you will fall to the shadows and it will be your own fault!" Shadow smirked, but Kou just drew.

"I draw!" he slid the card off of his deck and his eyes went wide. 'Total Defense Shogun, he'll help me beat this guy!"' He immediately took his Hayabusa Knight off of his monster slot and placed his drawn monster in the same place. "I sacrifice Hayabusa Knight to bring my favorite monster forward, say hello to Total Defense-WHAT THE!" Kou looked in horror as the "hologram" from the disk emerged.

The Shogun's armor, stance and weaponry was the same. It was his humane features that were absent Kou looked at his evilly smirking and blood licking of his lips swordsman. "HA! Do you like your monsters true side? In this realm your monster is reflected off of your very soul, no illusions or holograms are involved. You carry a great darkness which will soon be unleashed, and it is that darkness that will make you lose your soul!" Shadow tossed back his head and laughed as Kou grabbed his head, feeling a huge pressure from inside his skull.

'What's…happ-happening!"' he looked at the warrior he once admired standing in front of him. Now dark and deadly, it laughed along with Shadow as Kou fell to his knees from the pain. "I'll show you! I'll make sure you lose your soul! I activate Zero Gravity, and switch all monsters modes…" Kou stood up suddenly, feeling the rage from before more powerful then ever. His generals stood up fully as Shadow's monster kneeled down, ignoring the mini gremlin biting him. "I WILL KILL YOU!" Kou yelled with the deepest of hate. The blue haired boy raised a finger and pointed to Shadow. "DIEEEE!" His monsters charged, and all the while, Shadow just laughed.

_To Be Continued

* * *

_

**Next time:** The duels continue, and with Kou's evil side comesa whole lot of reckless moves and careless decisions. While Kou struggles against himself, Shisei struggles against the rage of an Egyptian God card. Can either duelist win? Find out next time on Duel Monsters Maximum!

To Darksoulki: We all know Yugi would pull something like a Kuriboh first turn. Or have "magically" set a card before Kaiba even drew. (Nanashi glares at photo of Yami) Lucky Bastard.


	44. Yami and Shadow Pt2

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

_Chapter 44: Yami and Shadow Pt.2_

Kou's favorite monster smiled as darkly as he had begun to as it leapt forward to blow it's master's enemies apart. Just as Total Defense Shogun (1550/2500) had reached the Union of Giant Orc (2200/0) and Second Goblin (100/100) the miniature goblin on the giant ogre creature leapt in front of the blow and was blown apart in place of it's larger partner.

"Your very idiotic, Mr. Nandao." Shadow began to mock. "You should understand that Union monsters are of a different breed than most. If one of them is to be destroyed, then the other will protect it." Shadow snickered eviler than Kou. Kou glared with red glowing eyes and raised another finger to point.

"Why just use one monster, when I have two? Attack his defensive Orc (2200/0) Marauding Captain (1200/400)!" the second general of war stepped forward and slashed the still beast in half. "Now show me if you can keep up, or are you just hot air!" Kou snickered as Shadow drew.

"I've been waiting for this, Mr. Nandao, for your darkness to emerge." Shadow told the boy across from him, looking the single card in his hand over.

"Yeah, you just couldn't wait for me to start kicking your mystery-man-ass all up and down this realm, huh?" Kou asked sarcastically. Shadow slid his card into the disk.

"No, I was waiting for you to become what you are now, a creature of evil so I could show you my true power, for the demons of the night are merciful creatures, but other demons aren't." Shadow slammed his drawn card onto the monster slot and a warping bluish mist-like creature appeared. "Say goodbye to your friend, I summon Theban Nightmare (1500/500) in attack mode!"

Kou licked his lips. "Freshmeat." he muttered as Shadow raised a finger to point at Marauding Captain (1200/400).

"Blow his Marauder away my Nightmare (3000/500)!" The bluish mist wailed and swirled around the Marauding Captain (1200/400) on Kou's field until it blew apart with an insane cackle. "Did I neglect to mention my Nightmare gains 1500 attack points when there are no magic/traps on my field and I have no hand?" Shadow asked innocently.

Kou-5200

Shadow-7700

"Just finish, this duel won't have mattered when your dead." Kou told his opponent.

"Look around, I have nothing more to do Mr. Nandao. Boy turning dark didn't make you any smarter, but if you want me to say "End Turn' I'll say it. End turn." Shadow took a bow as Kou rolled his eyes, though they were glowing so fiercely you couldn't see them roll, and drew.

"I start by playing Card of Sanctity, which let's us replenish our hands to six cards. It also means you lose your monster's pump-up ability!" Kou smirked as Theban Nightmare (1500/500) grew back down into it's normal form, panting a bit from the decrease in power. "Now I also summon the deadly Fiend Mega cyber (2200/1200) by offering my Total Defense Shogun as a tribute!" The general of war was scrapped as a golden armored futuristic creature appeared with a glare. This was a move Kou would probably never do, scrapping his favorite monster like this. "Now Fiend Mega cyber (2200/1200) blow his best shot at defeating me away!" Kou commanded. There was only need for one punch and the nightmare was gone.

Kou-5200

Shadow-7000

"I assume this is my move, then?" Shadow asked. He didn't honestly care the LP count, his mission was near it's success. Kou nodded in affirmation to his opponent. "Then I activate the card that will seal your pathetic fate, Field Magic card go, Pandemonium, or Lair of Ten Thousand Demon Lords!" The world around the duel field became considerably darker and faces formed in the shadows, all whispering and roaring, fighting behind the veil of darkness they had become ensnared in. "Welcome to your tomb." Shadow stated.

* * *

Shisei glared at the only true obstacle of his opponent's that could make him lose the duel. 'Bring it!"' he thought. Yami smirked, performing his victory hand movements and finally pointing at Shisei.

"Now my beast, attack Shisei directly!" The Winged Dragon of Ra (4400/5600) didn't seem to care much for attacking Shisei, but it swept a blast of wind at him nonchalantly, as though bored by such an opponent.

"Activate: Scapegoat, giving me four defensive Scapegoat tokens!" Shisei slid a card quickly into his disk and a quartet of multi colored miniature sheep appeared. "One is more than enough to block you from an attack!" Shisei smirked as Yami frowned.

"Fine, then I end my turn." Yami stated. He knew he was in trouble now, Shisei's entire deck strategy was getting him to draw cards and then discard them before he could use them.

'He's already sent some of our best cards, including the Dark Magician Girl, to the graveyard!"' Yugi noted to Yami, as if he didn't know.

'I know, Yugi, but we can still win this!"' Yami thought to his counterpart as Shisei drew.

"I'm going to show you my real power now, Yugi. I play Replay on Card of Sanctity!" Shisei's LP split as he took a card ejected from his graveyard slot and placed it into his disk. Yami's eyes went wide, but he obliged and drew until he had the necessary cards in his hand. "Then comes Spell Reproduction on Card Destruction, but I must first drop these two cards, which means you discard two as well!" Shisei smirked as Yami did this also. "Face it Yugi, your not playing to my level!" Shisei laughed and followed the instructions he gave Yami.

Shisei-6600

Yami-8000

"I don't understand, how come your not worrying about decking out?" Yami asked with wonder.

"I have a special card, and you'll see it soon, don't worry, for now, worry about yourself!" Shisei set one of his drawn cards as he ended his turn.

"Then it's my move, be ready to lose, Shisei!" Yami drew and merely glanced a the card before he smirked. "I start by summoning the Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode!" An apprentice mage figure appeared with a staff that doubled as a mace. "He shall blow away another of your Scapegoat Tokens!" The mage launched a miniature black magic attack at a green sheep. "Then my god card will blow another away!" Yami's Egyptian God followed orders splendidly, blasting another bored attack at Shisei's last defenses. "Make you move, but don't think you'll be winning!" Yami smirked.

* * *

Namia looked at the match with Joey standing by her side. "Whoa, you'd think it was Kaiba or you he was dueling!" Namia noticed. Joey smiled to her.

"Yeah, if you're a good enough challenge, then Yugi'll respect that. He's definitely not holding back against your friend there!" Joey stated. Namia nodded in acknowledgement.

"Of course, we all know he'll lose his title to Shisei." Namia stated. Joey glared, but they sat in silence as the exciting match went on.

* * *

Shadow placed yet another card onto his duel disk. "Now I will create an infinite army of demons, I summon Shadowknight Archfiend (2000/1600) in attack mode!" Shadow's new monster was a half dead creature that would have looked better in a Resident Evil game. "Guess what, I also equip my beast with the increment of your demise. I activate the equipment magic card: Mask of Brutality!" A dark glowing mask with an enraged face attached to the Shadowknight (3000/600) "This boosts the equipped monster's stats by 1000 attack points and it loses 1000 defense points! Now my Shadowknight will blow your warrior to the next realm!" The ugly and undead beast leapt and slashed Kou's monster in half.

Kou-4800

Shadow-7000

"Now you may go, not like one turn will matter much." Shadow stated as Kou smirked and drew.

"So your monster only deals half battle damage? Interesting, and if I'm right, you have to pay LP to keep those card you have on the field, seems odd to me." Kou stated with a darker voice than his own. Shadow didn't budge to show he heard his opponent. "Fine, be the silent one, I'll still mop the floor with you, I summon Sasuke Samurai #4 (1200/1200) in defense mode. I also set two cards facedown. End turn." Kou placed a monster, a yellow bodied mini samurai with a pike, and two brown back cards on his field.

"It is now my move. I draw." Shadow slid the top card from his deck and discarded Mask of Brutality. "I will rid my self of this nussance so I don't have to pay any LP. But I will also summon the Vilepawn Archfiend (1200/200) in attack mode!" Shadow's new monster looked only slightly less uglier than his Shadowknight.

"Archfiend monsters require you pay! Why did you skip out!" Kou glared as he realized his opponent was cheating Shadow snickered at his opponent's unawareness. "ANSWER ME!" Kou roared and some of the demons whispering behind him stopped as his eyes began to shift from red glowing to black and glistening.

"In the realm of Pandemonium, the Archfiend's needn't feed off of another's soul. It is their homeland, after all." Shadow smirked but Kou growled. "This will all be over soon anyway, I attack your Saskuke Samurai with my Shadowknight Archfiend (2000/1600)!" The first of the summoned archfiends rushed forwards again and slashed it's opponent's monster in half.

"Now you've done it!" Kou smirked as mini samurai blocked with it's pike. "My samurai requires I toss a coin and call it when it battles, I call heads!" Another giant coin appeared and flipped up, eventually landing on heads, as Kou predicted. "Now your monster is destroyed with mine!" Sasuke Samurai eventually was cut in half, but it's pike stabbed through the Archfiend as it blew apart. The Archfiend grabbed it's wound as a giant die appeared.

"Behold my monsters ability, when he's targeted by an effect, a die rolls, if a three is rolled…" Shadow stopped to watch his die result. Sure enough, despite having only a 1/6 chance of getting a successful roll, it came up on three. Shadow smiled. "now your monster and it's effect was wasted!" Shadow raised a finger, still having his Vilepawn ready and waiting to attack. "Now, Vilepawn Archfiend (1200/200) blow his LP into the ground! Direct Attack!" The deadly beast hurled itself at Kou, who activated a facedown card.

"I activate Revival of Defenses, which let's me bring back any warrior monster with higher defense than attack from my graveyard. Though it will be destroyed without damage calculation if attacked, and it can't switch modes!" Kou's field was suddenly occupied by a defensive Shogun (1550/2500). With a smooth cut down the wearier Shogun's body, Kou's field was soon empty again. "Pathetic, I'm just getting warmed up and your lugging behind." Kou stated.

"If you say so, I set two cards facedown, make your last move." Shadow's set cards appeared and he motioned for Kou to go.

"I'll make it a last move alright…But it'll be yours!" Kou drew and slammed the card down into his duel disk. "I summon the Hunter with Seven Weapons (1000/700) in attack mode!" Bald and burly, the new mosnter appeared and glared at the demons across from it, it's eyes reflecting Kou's new hatred and ugly power. "Demon will be the card he gains attack points while facing, then my Hunter with Seven Weapons (2000/700) will blow away Vilepawn (1200/200)!" The beast easily obliged but Shadow activated a facedown card.

"I play the trap card, Bark of the Dark Ruler, and I chain it's activation with another Emergency Provisions!" two cards flipped. One of them depicted the same rations and another was an odd animal roaring. "Bark of the Dark Ruler allows me to pay 1000 LP and decrease your monsters attack points by 1000 for this turn, so long as I have a demon monster on my field. And you already know the effect of Emergency Provisions, which means my LP stay the same as you lose 200!" Shadow smirked.

"I activate _my _last facedown card, Blast With Chain, so my Hunter (1500/700) may have lost 1000 attack points, but he gained 500, so you still lost your monster!" Kou laughed but suddenly, a large group of brown fuzzy beasts intercepted the blows of all seven weapons from the hunter. "Kuriboh." Kou muttered darkly as Shadow discarded his mini demon.

"Correct, and if your done…" Kou growled but nodded. "Then I draw." Smirking, Shadow drew his next card.

* * *

Shisei was giddy as he looked at his opponent's field. Not giddy because Yami had nothing to defend himself, but giddy because he was doing what he had always dreamed. Beating Yugi Moto. Add to the fact that he was decking him out instead of going around the normal way and decreasing LP, and he was just plain happy. "I have to say, I didn't think things would go so well for me, Yugi!" Shisei pressed a card into his disk. "I activate Swords of Concealing Light!" Black blades with a shadowed skull rained down on Yami's field.

"What does that card do?" Yami asked one of the stupidest questions for the world champion. The black blades eventually made his monsters flip down and away from the light, even Ra couldn't take it.

"It flips all monsters facedown into a defense position, which will allow me the opportunity to win this match!" Shisei placed another card onto the monster slot. "I summon now the Sasuke Samurai #3 (1000/1000) in attack mode!" Shisei's yellow bodied Samurai appeared and smiled with glee. "Now I activate the Magic card Pot of Greed!" Shisei drew twice and smirked. "Ready? I play Gravity Axe-Grarl on my Sasuke (1500/1000) and then I activate Shooting Star Bow – Ceal, so my Samurai (500/1000) loses attack points but can attack you directly!" Shisei's monster launched towards Yami, jumping on his facedown god card and slashing cards from his deck at him.

Shisei-6600

Yami-7500

"Your monster makes me draw." Yami realized. He placed his hand trembling on his deck and drew until he had seven hand cards, just as Sei's samurai's effect stated. He gulped as he realized he had exactly four cards in his deck. 'I don't think any of these cards will help me, because the effect of magic cards only last one turn on a god card, next turn his Swords effect will be gone, but that Gravity Axe will still make me wait a turn. Giving me three turns to win!"' Yami realized. Usually a duel like this was over someone's soul or the fate of the world, but with a friendly little duel like this, Yami loved the pressure to win.

"You think you can overcome a strategy that hasn't been run against you?" Shisei asked as Yami looked at Obelisk the Tormentor in his hand.

"I'll do my best at trying!" Yami smirked and drew his next card.

_To be Continued

* * *

_

**Next time:** The duels are fast approaching the finishing points. Will Kou, now back in his normal self with a few encouraging words from the "dead" Chiro, be able to stand up to the unstoppable power of the Ultimate Obedient Fiend? And can Shisei stand to be faced with two Egyptian God Cards, or will Yami be the first to crack from such a dramatic loss in his deck? Find out Next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

To john: I just have one question for you: Why aren't you an author on You sure have great tastes in stories…Well, except for Rex's (just kidding if your reading this Rex.) Sign up…NOW!


	45. Yami and Shadow Pt3

_Chapter 45: Yami and Shadow Pt.3_

The black twisted shadows that surrounded Kou and his opponent, who was, in fact, a Shadow himself, did nothing to interfere with their dueling skills. So far, Kou had no facedown cards, but a hand of three cards and Hunter With Seven Weapons (1500/700) on the field in attack mode. His opponent, Shadow had a field magic card, Pandemonium, Shadowknight Archfiend (2000/1600) and the card he had just drawn.

"So, what are you going to throw at me, it won't be enough." Kou glared. Shadow had previously done something to make Kou an angry and bitter duelist.

"Don't you worry about me. I activate Pot of Greed!" Shadow drew twice and smirked. "Now I summon Infernoqueen Archfiend (900/1500) in attack mode!" The new monster Shadow sported was an evil female archfiend, flames spilling from her. "I also activate, the equipment magic card, Falling Down!" A dark glow suddenly surrounded Hunter (1500/700) as it stumbled over to Shadow's field.

"What the hell did you do to my monster!" Kou yelled with surprise as he saw his monster take up a fighting stance on his opponent's field.

"My equipment magic card allows me to control your monster at the small cost of 800 LP per turn!" Shadow smirked as Hunter, though seemingly weaker, stood in front of him and left Kou with a completely empty field. "Now all three of my beasts will attack your LP directly!" Kou growled as first Shadow knight Archfiend (2000/1600) charged him and Hunter with Seven Weapons (1500/700) cut his leg. Finally the Infernoqueen Archfiend (900/1500) blasted a fireball at his stomach.

Kou-1400

Shadow-7000

Kou growled darkly and stood up to draw. "Your going to pay for that!" he drew his next card and looked at it. 'The Black Luster ritual…."' Suddenly, his head began to throb again as he saw the card. 'Ah, damn it! Can't…See!" Kou grabbed his head in intense pain. A blinding light seemed to be shooting from him as he stumbled back. He fell, hitting the ground but without feeling any pain everything around him swirled together to blend and make wonderful colors. He felt himself falling, and then, the world went…white.

* * *

Kou looked around himself to find that he was surrounded by large fluffy clouds. Beautiful rays of sun rained down upon him. And Chiro glared from a particularly large cloud. "AHHHH! Chiro!" Kou looked shocked at Chiro.

"Yeah, I'm here too somehow. You better not have died, because I made a mistake committing suicide, yo-" he was cut off as Kou's eyes went wide.

"You committed suicide!" Kou blinked in surprise.

"I didn't see a reason for staying in your time." Chiro looked away, towards the clouds. "But now I do." he stated. "After all, if it weren't for me, you'd be screwed so many times over there wouldn't be a point in living for much longer." Chiro sighed as he saw Kou look down.

"Yeah, but… I can't really control myself in the darkness. I don't know why but I feel like destroying everything…even you." Kou put his hands in his pockets and looked down below, where he couldn't see anything. Chiro nodded.

"I understand how darkness makes you feel. But remember, in every darkness, there is a brilliant light. Find it and get us out of here!" Chiro flashed the thumbs up at Kou, as the rays of sunlight faded and Kou felt himself getting lighter and lighter as everything faded to white… I mean black!

* * *

Shadow yawned as Kou's eyes opened and he looked across the field to shadow. "I…haven't….lost….y-yet!" Kou seemed to be having a hard time as he slid his card into the disk. "I won't let….dar-darkness consu-consume….me!" Kou also slid a card into his graveyard as a brilliant light came from two goblets of gold. The light consumed all around it and the Black Luster Soldier appeared with it's blade held high. Kou fell to his knees, breathing heavily.

"No!" Shadow looked at Kou in horror as he saw his opponent's newest monster. 'This kid can't have awakened the power of light…not in these parts of the Shadow Realm!"' Shadow thought in disbelief.

Kou suddenly stood up on his feet, cracking his neck and wearing a smirk. "Ah, well that was refreshing, can't wait to try that again sometime! By the way, I summoned the Black Luster Soldier by discarding a level eight monster card in my hand!" Kou smirked. "Now my Black Luster Soldier (3000/2500) shall wipe the floor with you, I choose to let him attack your Infernoqueen Archfiend (900/1500)!" The golden armored warrior bent it's knees and sprung through the air towards it's opponents monster. Infernoqueen screeched as it's blade cut her in half.

Kou-1400

Shadow-4900

"Now I activate the last card I have, Mystical Space Typhoon on my own Blast With Chain trap!" A raging wind blasted Kou's card apart and his trap card injected a grenade into Pandemonium. "I get to destroy a card on the field when my trap is destroyed due to an effect, so you lose field card and have to pay for all of your Archfiends!" Kou flashed the thumbs up at his soldier, who, shockingly enough, repeated the action to him.

"Then it's my move!" Shadow didn't wait for Kou to formally end his turn before growling and drawing his next card. His eyes went wide as his LP score decreased for his archfiend monsters and Falling Down equipment card. "I play Replay and use Pot of Greed's effect once more!" Shadow drew twice more and laughed. "Ha, who would have thought, you came so far only to lose!" he laughed at Kou.

Kou-1400

Shadow-1600

"I must have missed the joke." Kou stated with wonder at the cards his opponent drew.

"I'll show you! First I activate Monster Reborn and revive Infernoqueen Archfiend (900/1500) in attack mode!" The queen of Archfiend's returned and smiled wickedly at them. "Then I sacrifice all three of my mighty monsters," the three monsters on Shadow's field were suddenly mixing together and glowing as a giant being. "The Ultimate Obedient Fiend (3500/3000) in attack mode!" Shadow laughed as the only card on his field appeared and Kou's eyes widened. "Now my Ultimate Obedient Fiend is so remarkably strong because it cannot attack without my field and hand being completely empty. I have fulfilled this, so now my beast will blow your Black Luster (3000/2500) to smithereens!" The severely ugly demon opened it's large mouth and belched the Black Luster Soldier into digital fragments. "End turn!" Shadow smirked as Kou drew.

Kou-900

Shadow-1600

Kou drew his card and sighed. "Well Shadow, our time here is up, you lose." Kou slid a card onto his disk and a fearless and indomitable warrior appeared on his field. "I summon Freed the Brave Warrior (1700/1200) in attack mode!" Kou said.

"Your beast isn't strong enough, my monster has more than double it's attack strength!" Shadow snickered. Kou only shook his head.

"It's my monster's effect you need to worry about. Show him your stuff Freed," Kou took two ejected cards in his graveyard and slid them into his pocket. "Use Freedom Slash!" The warrior nodded and light that mimicked the forms of Black Luster Soldier and an unfamiliar monster appeared behind him as he slashed Ultimate Obedient Fiend in half.

"WHAT?" Shadow couldn't fake his shock as his monster was toppled, leaving his LP wide open.

"My monster allows me to remove two light monsters in my graveyard from play and destroy a monster as a result, so long as that monster has an attack higher than Freed's (1700/1200)! Now Freed, attack his LP directly!" The warrior obliged and did one final strike that ended the duel.

Kou-900

Shadow-0

Shadow desperately tried to remember what other Light monster his opponent had discarded. "You didn't have two light monsters though! It's not possible!" he said, not angry, just curious.

"When I brought Black Luster to the field, I discarded Archlord Zerato to do so. I removed him and Black Luster Soldier to win." Kou told Shadow, who nodded in realization.

"I must say that was an impressive battle, and your friend has already been awakened, once you and he are together I will return you to your place of death." Shadow said as Kou rushed over to see Chiro get up from his coffin and yawn.

"Ah, that was nice. Kou, what the hell? Did you actually win!" Chiro pretended to sound shocked as Kou growled. Shadow walked over to the pair as well.

"Well now that your back together, are we all ready to go back to your realm?" Shadow asked. Chiro and Kou smirked and nodded. "Oh, but one last thing….Here." Shadow took from his deck holster a card which he gave to Kou. "You have conquered the darkness within you, so you should be able to use that card without negative consequences." Shadow said smiling. Kou looked down and his eyes went wide as he saw the card. Mazera Deville. "Farewell, until the day we meet again." Shadow smiled as the boys were surrounded by a bright light, then gone in a flash.

* * *

Shisei was also in the midst of a duel for Kou's life. Though this duel, unlike Kou's, wasn't in the Shadow Realm. He was also managing to win, despite that the duel was against Yugi Moto, the world champion in dueling. It was now Yami Yugi's turn. "I start this turn by flipping my God card face up, though it still has to wait one turn to attack, as your second magic card, Gravity Axe Grarl, keeps him in defense mode. I end my turn there." Yami took two cards from his hand and set them. "I set two cards to have the normal hand limit." Yami informed Shisei, who drew.

"Alright, then I attack your LP directly again with Sasuke Samurai # 3 (500/1000)!" The yellow samurai tossed one card at Yami, who dodged out of it's way. "I also set one card, go." Shisei smirked to wide to believe. 'I'm about to win!"' he realized.

Shisei-6600

Yami-7000

'Next turn… I'm done."' Yami gulped and looked his hand, the field and at his last card. 'This is it, what is the last card in my deck? So many cards have gone to the graveyard I can't tell."' Yami gulped as Shisei bowed and let him draw. 'Oh well, I guess if I had to lose to someone, I'm glad it was a friend.''' Yami thought with a smile as he drew. His eyes widened. Then he bowed his head. "I start with my Premature Burial magic card!" Yami had a determined face as he flipped a facedown card. "Then I revive… God Dragon Osiris (8000/8000) at the cost of 800 LP!" A mighty red dragon with twin heads appeared.

Shisei-6600

Yami-6200

"No way!" Shisei's eyes went wide as another of the god cards appeared before him.

"Yes, and Osiris is going to win me the duel!" Yami declared, setting two cards. "Now I set these two cards, and attack your pathetic Samurai (500/1000) with my God Osiris (6000/6000!" The twin headed dragon, as long and tall as Ra simply roared, but Shisei flipped a card and the roar was deflected.

"I play Negate Attack, sorry Yugi, you lose." Shisei smirked.

"I then activate Ring of Destruction on my god of Osiris!" Yami's beast blew apart as did some of his and Shisei's LP.

Shisei-600

Yami-200

"That was really stupid." Shisei said, closing his eyes as the shrapnel from the blast blew towards him and Yami. "You couldn't even tie!" Shisei laughed but Yami only smirked and set a card.

"I've already one, so I will allow you to make your move." Yami smiled and motioned for Shisei to go.

"I will attack you-" Shisei was about to call his winning attack, but suddenly, the entire field was empty save the Winged Dragon of Ra. "what?" Shisei's eyes widened as he saw that the only monster on the field was the most lethal God card.

"This is where you lose Shisei. I activated: LAST BATTLE!" Yami's card glowed upon it's name being called. "Now I select a monster on my field, and you select any monster in your deck to square off against it!" Yami smirked as the Winged Dragon (4400/5600) swooped in front of him protectively. "My dragon has a high enough attack power to blow any monster you summon away. You lose." Yami stated matter of factly as Shisei frantically searched his deck.

"No." Sei whispered, his knees hit the ground the same time the cards he held did. "I…I give up." Shisei felt a tear come up as the audience clapped Yami's victory.

Shisei-Forfeit

Yami-200

* * *

**Next time:** Osmos plans on fulfilling his end of the bargain and taking the souls of Namia, Ryuko, and Kou. Even though Yami has incredible power as the pharaoh, he can't match the combined power of Kamishiro and Osmos. Just when things look bad, Kou rushes forward and does the riskiest thing he may ever do: Challenge Osmos to a Shadow match. Unfortunately, Kamishiro has to be included in the fun, but Shisei won't let his best friend go one vs. two against the meanest guys he's ever seen. So next time it's Kou and Shisei vs. Osmos and Kamishiro. Who will win the final duel of Dragoon Island tournament? Find out next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

To Demon Fan: There is no shame in being hit on by a gay man. Unless your straight, of course.

To generic reviewer: Don't stab Namia in the head with a fork….use a knife, it bleeds more!

To Rex: Sorry if that really offended you, you know your story is much better than mine anyway, so don't take me seriously.

A/N: Okay, up until now I've been ignoring the questions about sequels and stuff, because I'm honestly not sure if I will be able to do a sequel. With how much time this story takes up on its own. But I do believe I will have time as soon as summer starts up, so as long as the school year is in, I'll be updating this story and the little "surprise" that I have for everyone that appreciates my characters (hint hint, something else before the sequel) And then the sequel, which will be titled Duel Monsters Maximum: Tournament of Knights Saga. So look for it and remember my policy, RR my story, and I'll check out yours (it's how I got to know Rex the Emerald Dragon's story!) And also, this ending may have seemed abrupt, but I couldn't figure a decent way to cut it with what the next scene involves.


	46. The Return of Kou

_Chapter 46: The return of Kou_

Yami and Shisei stood solitary in the dueling ring. Yami Yugi was done smirking over his latest victory, and he rushed over to see if the blond across from him was alright.

"Shisei, it was just a duel, what matters is that you had fun!" Yami put a hand on Sei's shoulders as a tall shadow loomed over him. Yami looked up as Shisei glared at Higentaka Osmos, the tall shadow.

"Yes, all that matters is that you had fun, now if you don't mind, I have to escort you second rate duelists out of my castle." Osmos grabbed Shisei's arm, Shisei desperately trying to wrench from his grasp, and dragged him across the arena towards the exit. "I'll be back for our duel shortly." Osmos smiled politely to Yami and turned to meet with a fist. "Oof!" Osmos dropped Shisei and Ryuko caught him as Joey moved in for another punch.

"YOU JERK!" Joey grabbed Osmos, whose nose was bleeding and punched him in the stomach. "Trying to steal people's souls huh, well try it without your small intestine!" Joey yelled. The blond boy raised his fist to deliver another punch, but a white blur swept across the five and Joey was suddenly on the ground and shivering, muttering about being cold.

"JOEY!" Yami bent down to him as Kamishiro in his white cape grabbed Osmos and jumped to the front of the arena, farther away from Yami, Namia, Joey, Ryuko, and Shisei, and deposited him there. "What have you done to him!" The Eye of Ra appeared on the darker Yugi's forehead as he stood up with an evil glare.

"Simple, I cast a spell on him so his body functions would slow down and eventually stop. Killing the fool." Kamishiro said, then, to Osmos: "Are you alright, master!" Osmos stood up and looked at a shivering Joey like he was a slug.

"I'll be fine once he's dead!" Osmos said. He then turned with a smirk at Yami. "I suppose your angry I said that." he laughed as Yami's eye began to glow with rainbow colors.

"Y-yugi…he's g-go-gonna stea-l their so-souls, N-Namia to-to-told me!" Joey did his best to say, grabbing on to Yami's pant leg to reinforce the messages urgency. Yami's eyes went wide as he glared at Osmos once more.

"You would try to steal the souls of innocent-" he was cut off as thunder roared behind the building the group stood in and Osmos's forehead glowed with an odd Triangular shape, unknown symbols inside it.

"DON'T BE FOOLISH YAMI, THOSE CHILDREN HOLD POWER THEY WERE NEVER MEANT TO!" Osmos glared. "Your just lucky I managed to destroy one before the true fury of the seals was unleashed." Osmos smiled in satisfaction. But Yami had had enough.

"MIND CRUSH!" Holding up a glowing hand, Yami blasted ancient magical energies at Osmos.

"Foolish Yami, you don't seem to understand the power I possess." Osmos waved a hand and the charging attack switched directions. Yami managed to dodge out of its way, but one of the audience members would go home more than a little brain dead that day. "Now stay out of my way, they lost, our bet was clear so they must die!" Osmos smirked as he raised a glowing hand.

"Aren't you forgetting about someone Osmos?" A familiar voice sounded from the doorway. The audience, all of those that had hidden themselves under their seat instead of rushing out screaming, anyway, turned to see a blue haired boy in shabby martial arts clothing. Kouichi Nandao flipped his hair and unsheathed his blade with a smirk. "Why don't you try that on me?" Kou lunged at Osmos.

"FOOL!" Osmos raised a hand and blasted a bolt of lightning at Kou. Kou only smirked as his hair turned black and his fangs grew longer as Chiro, Holder of the Seals took his place. Chiro hit the lightning toward Kamishiro. "WHAT!" Osmos was impressed against his will by the fact that the boys had learned to deflect an attack and switch bodies so seamlessly.

"Yeah, were just that good." Kou landed next to Namia, Shisei and Ryuko. Ryuko looked up at the heroic figure before him in shock. Namia jumped up and hugged him, and Shisei smirked an jumped up.

"I didn't think you were smart enough to escape from math class, much less death!" Shisei said, trying not to cry from joy. Namia made no such attempt.

"KOU!" Namia leapt from her spot next to Shisei and Ryuko and hugged Kou ferociously. "I d-didn't t-think you'd make it!" She sniffled continuously as Kou blushed. "Thank god your okay!" Namia finally stopped. It was as though the moments of battle forgotten, and Osmos had given up, but the group wasn't so lucky.

"SCOUNDRELS!" Osmos raised a hand and ejected a larger thunderbolt than the last. "HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME AND MY PURPOSE BY RETURNING!" Osmos's glare stretched farther than the space between himself, Namia, Ryuko, Shisei, and Kou. It pierced into their very souls.

Kou opened his mouth as his fangs became lengthy again and his hair turned to Chiro's color. "Well that's what you get for killing me!" Chiro glowered right back. The field was set, Kamishiro was clearly ready for Chiro's move and Osmos still had plenty of magic to blast at his opponents.

Yami gulped, the situation couldn't have been worse. 'Oh no, if Osmos can deflect one of my attacks…."' Yami looked to the teenagers he'd only just met and gulped.

Chiro stepped forward and pulled Joey to his feet. "Return him to the way he was…NOW!" he commanded. Osmos's glare turned into another evil smirk.

"Kamishiro, do you feel like returning this boy to his normal state?" the silver haired man turned to Kamishiro wearing the same smirk. Kamishiro laughed.

"I see no reason to let the dog live, just kill him!" Osmos nodded and Yami's eyes went wide.

"OSMOS!" Yami yelled. "If you kill him I will defeat you!" Yami roared and Chiro readied his blade.

"Perhaps you have a small chance of defeating me in a duel of magic, Yami…." Osmos began. Shisei and Chiro looked at him warily as he advanced towards the six. "And really, if he wanted to, Chiro could lop my head off…." Osmos looked at Chiro's blade as a dark mist crept slowly upon them all, unnoticed to everyone but Kamishiro.

"What are you on about, Osmos!" Shisei stepped forward beside Chiro. Chiro looked at him then dropped Joey over his shoulders. "If you really believe that then you could run!" Shisei finished.

"Ah, but there is another area of expertise that I know as well as you all, one that I excel at least enough in to defeat Mr. Nandao…." Osmos smirked.

From the back of their mind, Kou realized what was going to happen. He frantically took control of his body again. Chiro was shocked by the sudden switch. Kou opened his mouth and yelled, just a split second before the growing mist became impenetrable. "RUN!" Shisei's eyed Kou with question until the world around him went black.

* * *

Kamishiro laughed as Kou looked around for the faint glimmer of light that usually was a duel disk in a shadow game. BAM BAM BAM! Kou suddenly found himself being bombarded by burning yellow lighting bolts and fists in every place on his body. "Having fun!" Kamishiro's voice rang out, high pitched from previous laughing.

"No-not real-OOF!" Kou was hit with another bolt and fell to the floor. 'Damn it, I can't handle these guys on my own, Chir-"' his thought process was broken as Chiro interpreted what was to come and switched with his blue haired counterpart.

"HYAH!" Chiro leapt forward in a dazzling kick and nailed Kamishiro right in the chest. Kamishiro landed next to Osmos as Osmos readied a duel disk.

"Oh well, fun times over I suppose. Are you ready to duel!" Kamishiro smirked as Chiro switched to Kou again.

"Ready as I'll ever be. Which one of you assholes will I have to whip?" Kou smirked assuming it was Osmos. The rematch he had been waiting for had finally arrived. Only one problem. Kamishiro stood up and strapped his own duel disk on, activating it he shuffled his deck and placed it into the disk's deck slot.

"Well you see, Mr. Nandao," Osmos began with an evil grin. "We thought it would be unproductive of us to duel you one at a time, after all, if you can defeat us then you might as well do it all in one fell swoop, right!" Osmos placed a hand on his deck to begin drawing, looking at Kou and waiting for retreat so his soul would be taken.

Kou glared and activated his own duel disk….at the same time another clicked into place. "Sure, we'll take you two clowns down!" Osmos, Kamishiro, Chiro from in Kou's mind, and Kou himself turned in shock to Shisei, who had fainted upon being brought into the Shadow Realm. "Right Kou?" Shisei asked.

Kou looked at Shisei and smirked. "Yeah, and we'll do it with style!" Kou flashed the thumbs up along side his best friend. Shisei looked at Kamishiro, he had felt more than angered by the loss in their last duel, but now he was ready to settle the score. "What are the stakes, souls as usual?" Kou said with a laugh.

"No Mr. Nandao." Osmos said, drawing his hand. Osmos was suddenly talking silently and sadly. "Your going to bet the reason why I invited you to this island in the first place, as well as the fate of Joey Wheeler, on the outcome of this duel." he finished.

"What do you mean, why I came here!" Kou looked at Osmos in confusion.

"It's time you learned my purpose, Mr. Nandao. Unfortunately…" Osmos closed his eyes tiredly for a second, then they reopened with a wicked glint in them. "It doesn't involve you staying alive!" Osmos laughed as the Shadows turned and twisted around them.

Kamishiro-8000

Kou-8000

Osmos-8000

Shisei-8000

* * *

**Next time:** The final duel is here, and now that Kou and Shisei have reached the end of the tournament, they learn the whole reason it was thrown and the power that is held within the Seal Holder and Seal Seekers. But more importantly, Shisei's immediate reaction to Kamishiro's 10 turn win combo shows he and Kou aren't playing. But Osmos's true deck has been revealed and the bpower it holds won't be easy to stop. Cand Shisei and Kou stop it? Find out next time on Duel Monsters Maximum: Dragoon Island Tournament!

A/N: My computer is on the fritz as I write this, it ite this, every time I try to save it either shuts off or takes hours, so it will take even longer for the next few chapters. Sorry! On a lighter note, for all of those who thought Osmos's motives in the tournament and Kou and Sei's involvement in those motives were just a big fat plot hole…HAHAHAHA! The hole has been filled! Well, thanks for reviewing, I'm coming up on 100 because of you guys, and Sayonara!

P.S.: Read Darksoulki's story if you haven't!


	47. Purpose

_Chapter 47: A Purpose to Fight_

"I shall make the first move." Kamishiro smirked and slid a card off of his deck. "Ah, beautiful card. I activate Final Countdown by paying 2000 LP!" Kamishiro watched his LP counter decrease as miniature flaming pillars, 20 in all, popped from the ground. "And I also activate Time Zone Skip! Now every one of our final 20 turns will count as two!" Kamishiro's close to unbeatable combo appeared before him. "Finally, I set one monster facedown. Make your pathetic move." Kamishiro pointed to Kou.

Kamishiro-6000

Kou-8000

Osmos-8000

Shisei-8000

"While you contemplate your useless move, I shall inform you two of your small bit of usefulness in this tournament." Osmos smirked as Kou looked at him suspiciously. "It all begins with the seals." Osmos started. "There are 7 true seals in total. Ones of each: Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, Light, Darkness, and of course, Divine. Sound familiar?" Osmos looked to Shisei.

"The attributes of all Duel Monsters cards." Shisei said with recognition. "So these seals are what besides very annoying?" Shisei asked with a growl in his voice.

"Their power was sought out by many great or dangerous men and women. Of the most notable was Thalius, an Omega." Osmos responded. Kou's eyes went wide as he recognized the name, but he held his thoughts inside himself. "Though his power was great, his ability to find the seals was less than satisfactory, this is where your friend, Chiro, comes in." Osmos looked over at Kou, whose face was now Chiro's.

"I remember all to well my stupidity in trusting Thalius, Osmos. And I plan to correct the mistake I made back then by first kicking your ass then finding the seals and keeping them safe!" Chiro said.

"If you say so." Osmos smirked. Chiro glared, but shifted back to Kou and Kou slid a card onto his disk.

"I summon the D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600) I in attack mode. I now let Osmos make his move!" Kou declared. A silver armored warrior woman appeared with a glowing white laser blade.

"It took you ten minutes to come up with that for a move?" Kamishiro asked as two more torches around them went out.

"Just go!" Kou glared at Osmos. The silver haired man nodded and drew his card.

"I shall set one monster into defense mode as well." Osmos started, a brown back card paralleled to Kamishiro's card on the two's field. "Now as I was saying, Osmos needed others to seek the seals for him, as he was unable to discover their resting place on their own. So he hired Chiro to do the job. This backfired when Chiro absorbed the powers of each seal. Unfortunately, betrayal can be found in any relationship, and Thalius, enraged at the fact Chiro was given the raw power of the seals, immediately waged war, and easily won, against Chiro's village." Osmos motioned for Shisei to draw. "Now in the battle between Chiro and Thalius, each of the fighters had a different version of the same raw power. The outcome was the death of Thalius and Chiro's spirit, as well as the seals, being blasted across time and space to settle in this realm of existence." Osmos finished.

Kou raised an eyebrow. "This makes no sense, how the hell am I suppose to be involved in something that probably happened on a completely different plane of existence?" Kou asked. Osmos smirked.

"Simple, Mr. Nandao. Your involvement in the tournament comes because you are connected to Chiro. While he isn't the best of Denva…" Osmos began, but then quieted his insult as Kou's eyes widened.

"D-Denva!" Kou said in shock., thinking the same thing to Chiro.

'It was my purpose to protect the village."' Chiro murmured, more to himself than to Kou.

"Yes Mr. Nandao. Chiro is a Denva, though the only one of his village." Osmos yawned. "Haven't you thought on why your prowess is sword fighting? His body was made to fight, and your body has been connected to him for all of your days on this earth." Osmos finished.

"Okay, then what is a Denva, exactly?" Kou asked, trying to wipe the pictures of Gazelle and Chimera with Chiro's head on their bodies from his mind.

"A Denva is a dangerous creature from the sky, Mount Kunlun, to be exact. They came to our world supposedly years ago and no one knows why. Or that's what myth guys say, anyway." It wasn't Osmos who answered this, but Shisei with comprehension from hearing the conversation. "And to begin my move, I activate Mystical Space Typhoon on Final Countdown." He yawned lazily and slid another card into his disk. "I end my turn with this card facedown." Shisei looked at Kamishiro.

"Now that we've cleared up any confusion, you should realize my ultimate plan was to acquire the body of Chiro, as he is the only thing still in existence that has been able to synchronize with the seven seals. Unfortunately, I need his soul which was previously stripped from him by Kamishiro," Osmos took a moment to glare at a now bowing Kamishiro. "this didn't hinder my plans for long, as you two managed to revive yourselves so I could properly separate your souls, hence this particular Shadow Game." Osmos smirked.

"Well said Master, now allow me the opportunity to demolish these pathetic and utterly worthless creatures." Kamishiro drew. "I activate Sanctuary in the Sky!" Kamishiro smirked as the Shadow Game was enveloped in light and the four competitors were standing on a large temple which floated in the air due to it's wings.

"Nice, at least it's brighter!" Kou snickered and drew his next card with a motion from his opponent. "I start my move by summoning the D.D. Assailant (1700/1600) in attack mode!" A male silver armored warrior hopped forward from a card, standing directly beside the first monster on Kou's field. "Now get ready, because first my D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600) will attack Kamishiro's facedown defense monster!" Kou pointed and the female warrior rushed forward and sliced the card.

"Foolish boy!" Kamshiro smirked and flipped the card on his disk, making the hologram follow suit. Thje creature that appeared couldn't be called anything but cute, it was a mini blob of glowing marshmallow. "You attacked my Marshmallon (300/500) while he has a pathetic array of stats, his body can well withstand the best you have to offer." The gelatinous white thing that was revealed after the attack smiled and Kou covered his eyes from the brightness as his LP decreased. "Oh, and my miniature marshmallow has the special ability to inflict 1000 points of direct damage to the attacker when assaulted in face down defense mode!" Kamishiro finished.

Kamishiro-6000

Kou-7000

Osmos-8000

Shisei-8000

"Kou, remember how crafty these guys are, don't mess up when your around them!" Shisei reminded his best friend, who was still shaking his head from the stars in his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, I know, but I still have another monster to go!" Kou looked at the face down monster on Osmos's field. "Now attack Osmos's monster D.D. Assailant!" Kou roared.

"KOU!" Shisei looked at Kou in disbelief. 'Damn, of all the times for him to act like an amateur, when were dueling two of the most deadly guys around for our souls!"' Shisei thought with a huge gulp.

Osmos followed Kamishiro's movements and flipped his monster to reveal an odd kind of Grim Reaper. "Say hello, Mr. Nandao, to the Spirit Reaper (300/200) his ability mimics that of the Marshmallon which my partner holds. Minus the LP reduction." Osmos informed Kou.

Kou looked at the two monsters he had just failed miserably to defeat and growled. "Alright, I set this card facedown and end my turn." Kou finished. Osmos drew without a wait.

"I start my move off with one of the deadliest combos in the game. I activate Miraculous Draw!" Osmos smirked and looked evilly at Shisei. "This card states that I am allowed to guess the name of the card I draw, during each and every one of my draw phases." Osmos started, placing another of his hand cards into the disk on his left arm. "If my guess is right, then one of you will take 1000 points of damage, if it is wrong, then I will lose the LP instead." Osmos finished.

"So you plan to take fifteen lucky guesses?" Shisei raised an eyebrow beneath his glasses as Osmos laughed. "Doesn't sound very smart or happy. So why is it your laughing?" Shisei reinforced his opinion.

"Poor little Shisei, still so utterly clueless to true strategizing and power." Osmos activated the card he had just slid into the disk. The hologram that appeared before them was of a great trench dividing two duelist's monsters. "Now behold, The Great Divide magic card! This card states that we may each have 1 field magic card in play at the same time. In other words, we have the opportunity to play with the special effects of four field cards at once, instead of just one. In addition, we each take one field magic card from our decks and add them to our hands." Osmos declared, taking one from his deck and slipping it in between two cards in his hand.

"Be careful what you choose Kou, he has something major planned." Shisei said to his best friend.

"Hey, I just dueled a crazy guy in the depths of the Shadow Realm. I think I can pick out one little- Ooh, I never got to play this one before!" Kou eagerly took a card from his deck and Shisei's eyes went wide at the lack of seriousness in his voice. Kou winked and added the card to his hand as Shisei gulped.

"I have no other field magic card, so Master Osmos may continue his move if you two are done." Kamishiro spat at Shisei, who nodded.

"Alright, then I activate _my_ field card… Convulsion of Nature!" Osmos's entire field…well all of their fields actually, turned inside out, upside down and straight around. "Now we turn our decks upside down and play the match from there." Osmos stated. The four duelists fulfilled the effect and removed their decks, then placed them back in a reverse position. "Now I set two cards and end my turn." Osmos finished.

Kou looked at Shisei. 'Come on Sei, don't let us down now."' Kou realized what Osmos's last move meant. Before he drew during each of his draw phases, he would be able to see the card on his deck's top, then he would declare it's name and give him or Sei 1000 points of damage.

"I start my move by activating the field magic card I took: Temple of Chaos Magic!" The Sanctuary on his side of the field crumbled as a dark temple formed around him. "This gives all Dark Spellcasters an extra 200 attack points as well as some more hidden effects…" Shisei smirked and pressed his trap activation card. "Then I activate: Raigeki Break! This trap card let's me discard a card from my hand to destroy one card on the field. I discard the Dark Magic Blitz and destroy--" Just as Shisei had pointed to Convulsion of Nature Osmos pressed his own trap activation card.

"To bad your trap won't be able to activate. For I play Seven Tools of the Bandit and Barrel Behind the Door!" Osmos's first card turned out to be a Swiss army knife which slashed Shisei's trap apart at the same time as sending a large amount of knives back to it's owner. The second trap, Barrel Behind the Door materialized a gun that blasted the attack right at Shisei instead. "The first card let's me pay 1000 LP to negate the effect of a trap card and then my second trap allows me to inflict the damage I would take other than battle damage, to you." Osmos smiled cheerfully as Shisei fell to his knees from being spearheaded with knives.

Kamishiro-6000

Kou-7000

Osmos-8000

Shisei-7000

"Sei!" Kou rushed over towards his friend, but upon reaching the blond an invisible barrier blasted him back to his own field. "What the hell?" Kou asked, anger and frustration at not being able to help his friend welling up inside him. "Hang on Sei! We can and will win this!" Kou yelled, not running towards Shisei this time though.

"You fools have no chance of surviving the true power hidden in me and Kamishiro's decks. Face it you will lose this battle as utterly pathetic as you won every other one on this island." Osmos stated. Kou glared at the silver haired man as Shisei stood up.

"I'm fine, and I won't go down!" Shisei yelled. "I set one more card facedown and end my turn!" Shisei looked at Kamishiro who drew. "This duel is only just starting Osmos, and trust me, by the time it's done _your _going to be in the loser position along with your lackey!" Shisei yelled to his opponents. Kou looked at the determination in Sei's eyes and then readied himself for the long fight ahead.

* * *

"OSMOS!" Yami beat furiously against the shadow game, desperate to reach the innocent people and Higentaka Osmos on the other side of the black sphere. Once the power of his millenium puzzle was found to be useless, he had resorted to trying to beat a hole in the sphere.

"It won't work, Osmos has even more power than the other duelists we've faced that use Shadow magic." Ryuko said bored. Yami turned to the smaller boy and shook his head.

"There is always a way, and I will find one to get in there and save your friends. For your sake, and Joey's." Yami turned to the paling form of Joey Wheeler, who's head was in Namia's lap. Seeing his best friend in such a state seemed to strengthen his resolve and he beat even more furiously against the Shadows.

Ryuko walked away from the orb of darkness and looked at his deck. 'If only I could help them somehow. Oh well." He sighed upon realizing there was nothing he could do. 'Just stay safe guys, please!"' Ryuko finished his ponderings. Unbeknownst to him, the others in the room were wishing the exact same thing.

* * *

**Next time:** The duel heats up as Shisei is on the end of a merciless cycle of 1000 LP losses from Osmos's combo. Just when Kou finds out a way to help his best friend Kamishiro brings one of the most fearsome monsters in his deck to the field. Kou must some how figure out a way to protect Shisei and himself from Osmos's combo and Kamishiro's Angel of Dark Rebirth. Can the warrior possibly figure out how to? And if he can't there's always Chiro! Next time on Duel Monsters: Maximum!

A/N: Okay, I know that the updates have been few and far between, but my comp is fixed now so I can keep up with the demand. Oh, and thank you all for reviewing, if I haven't reviewed any of my loyal reviewer's stories yet then I'll get to that right away. I know this was a lame start to the duel, but the next few chapters will involve more intense moves and incredible counters, just keep reading!

To Rex_ and_ Erestor Telemnar: The last chapter was so completely off because every time I tried to save the computer stopped up on me. In other words, the very first document I wrote up was probably pretty good, but because it got erased and I had to write a second one, then a third, a lot of my ideas were completely lost along with the save data. I just hope this chapter wasn't as off. And thanks again for reviewing.

To LucienShadowMaster and Dragonmaster 13: Thank you both for reviewing and taking the time to compliment me.


	48. Return of the Dark Angel

_Chapter 48: Return of the Dark Angel_

Shisei looked from the depths of the darkness in the shadow realm to the cloaked figure in the process of making his next move of the two-on-two duel monsters match. Kamishiro easily slid his card from the deck and looked over to Osmos with a smirk that gave Shisei no happy feeling. "Are you going to just sit and smile about your draw like an idiot, or are you going to play something?" Shisei's smart tone was cracked slightly from the fear of dueling such powerful entities.

"Patience is a virtue." Kamishiro stated, wagging a finger towards Kou and Shisei's side of the dueling field.

"Yeah, one that I seem to be running low on!" Kou glared at the two competitors across from him.

"Then it is time I show you the true strength of my deck, I sacrifice my Marshmallon, and bring forth the much stronger: Zaborg the Thunder Monarch (2400/1000)!" The cute little marshmallow winked before disappearing in a circle of white light, indicating tribute summon. The marshmallow was gone only a second before a giant steel creature with balls of thunder crackling inside his hands and a look of pure power emerged. "Now Zaborg (2400/1000), strike Kouichi's D.D. Assailant (1700/1600) down!" The beast reared back it's thunder soaked hands and tossed a thunder ball at the D.D. Assailant, which instantly blew apart.

"Nice, now your monster is removed from play!" Kou clenched his fist in satisfaction before looking at the LP score in puzzlement. Then he saw Zaborg still standing triumphantly in front of it's master and realized something was wrong. "Uh, why isn't your monster gone with the wind, and why haven't I lost any LP?" Kou asked.

"Foolish child. Each Monarch has a special ability unique to itself. The special ability of Zaborg (2400/1000) being that it is the Monarch of thunder, will instantly destroy one monster upon it's being brought to the field." Kamishiro explained while rolling his eyes. "Now I activate a magic card: Tribute to the Doomed!" Kamishiro's magic card appeared before them on his sanctuary field. Then bandages appeared from the ground and began to drag D.D. Warrior Lady under. When Kamishiro discarded the final card in his hand, D.D. Warrior Lady was destroyed completely.

"No, he discarded his last card and got rid of D.D Warrior Lady." Shisei stated as Kamishiro raised his hand to call an attack.

"Now, attack Shisei directly Zaborg (2400/1000)!" The Monarch pulled it's arm back and tossed another ball of thunder, this one hitting Shisei and knocking his LP... _up_!

Kamishiro-6000

Kou-7000

Osmos-8000

Shisei-9400

"Whew! That was close, if I hadn't had Draining Shield I'd be screwed!" Shisei laughed as Kamishiro motioned for Kou to go, after all, he had no hand cards and nothing but Zaborg on the field. Kou bowed an drew.

'Whoa, Freed the Matchless General! He helped me last time, but I need another Light monster in my graveyard before he can help me again….Only, this is the only other monster card I've got!"' Kou gulped, realizing he had to protect his LP, even if it meant getting rid of one of his best monsters by playing defense.

'Idiot, you need real strategy to play, let me take over!"' Chiro suddenly stated from within Kou, just as Kou had set his monster on the disk.

'Chiro! I know what I'm doi-"' Kou was cut off as he felt the normal floating feeling signaling a soul switch.

"Ah, you've decided to join us in Mr. Nandao's place, eh Chiro?" Osmos smiled after he realized the two had switched possession of the body.

"That's right, and you're about to see exactly how foolish it was in dueling against me _and_ Kou at the same time! I summon Freed, the Matchless General (1700/1200) in attack mode and set all but one of my remaining cards facedown!" Four more cards appeared on his field behind a strong jawed man with a powerful blade. "Beat that move!" Chiro smirked despite Kou's wail of disco tempt.

'Chiro, you just set some of my best cards for…BLUFFING REASONS!"' Kou roared in outrage at the strategy his counterpart had taken on. 'What if they are destroyed!"' he asked Chiro.

'They won't be, just let me duel from here on out and you'll be just f-"' he cut of as Osmos yelled the name of the card he was about to draw. Due to Convulsion of Nature, unless he was a complete idiot, he had made either Kou or Shisei lose 1000 LP. But that wasn't the worst of it, for the card name he declared was…

"Harpie's Feather Duster will be my next card." Osmos smirked and placed the card he had guessed correctly onto the disk. "Now I activate this powerful card and destroy all of your facedown cards!" Osmos smirked and pointed to Chiro, who sweat dropped before switching back to Kou. "Next I activate the Graceful Charity Magic card!" Osmos drew three times and Shisei fell to his knees from another sudden injury. "Oh, and I'll have Mr. Aragashi take the 1000 points of damage from the effect of Miraculous draw." Osmos smiled wickedly.

Kamishiro-6000

Kou-7000

Osmos-8000

Shisei-8400

'Oh crap!"' Chiro thought from inside Kou's mind. Kou glared mentally at him. 'Look, it seemed like a good idea at the time, okay?" Chiro said.

'You could have at least put him in defense mode!"' Kou glared at his counterpart as Osmos whistled with surprise, activating the card he had just gotten with Graceful Charity.

"I activate Pot of Greed and draw two new cards," Osmos did so with anxious glances from Shisei and Kou. "I've drawn it." Osmos smirked.

"Drawn what?" Shisei asked, wiping blood from his mouth.

"Your demise, I activate Polymerization!" Osmos's field was suddenly occupied with not only the miniature Grim Reaper but also a ghostly horse. "Now I fuse the Spirit Reaper and Nightmare Horse to form… Reaper of Nightmare (800/600) in attack mode!" Osmos laughed as Kou and Shisei sweat dropped. The thing did look deadly and foreboding with the wisps of black from the shadow realm surrounding it's hooded form.

"You do realize that thing has way fewer attack points than Kou's monster?" Shisei asked with amusement.

"Ah, but it carries the effect of the fusion monsters used to create it. First off, it cannot be destroyed in battle, even though damage calculation is applied normally." Osmos pointed to Shisei, his lips curling even more than before. "He also has the ability to attack you directly! Now Reaper of Nightmare (800/600) attack Mr. Aragashi directly!" The Grim Reaper like monster charged forward and slashed a card from Shisei's hand as well as some of his LP.

Kamishiro-6000

Kou-7000

Osmos-8000

Shisei-7600

"What happened to my card?" Shisei asked, a hand covered with blood from his wounded shoulder.

"My monster may discard a card from your hand with each successful direct attack. End turn." Osmos finished, apparently happy with himself.

Shisei slid his next card off his disk and looked at it with a growl. "I activate Card of Sanctity, since were all running out of options!" Shisei slid five cards off his deck as Kou took five and Osmos and Kamishiro each took six.

'Hope these help!"' Kou thought, just as he was about to draw his fifth card. He had his hand on the card when a glow suddenly enveloped it and his duel disk in a bright white light. 'What the!"' he thought. He removed the card from his disk and his eyes went wide. 'I don't have this card… What's its effect…"' he read it and realization dawned on him. Heart pounding he looked at Kamishiro's field magic card and the field card he had taken, then Sei's. 'I could pull this off, but I'll need a lot more time than we may have, don't let me down Sei!"' Kou looked over at Shisei, who was still contemplating his move.

"Alright, I set two cards facedown and end my turn!" Shisei smirked as Kamishiro drew. "Now I activate one of my facedown cards, Ring of Destruction!" a deadly ring of grenades appeared around Kamishiro's monarch and exploded with an incredible force. "This card allows me to destroy one monster and makes all of us, you included, take 2400 points of damage!" Shisei smirked as he was blown back by the force of the explosion.

Kamishiro-3600

Kou-4600

Osmos-8000

Shisei-4200

Shisei looked at the LP count and his jaw dropped. "How come you didn't lose any LP!" he asked Osmos. Osmos smirked.

"It was the effect of Sacred Kuriboh (300/200) I can discard him to negate the effects of any damage inflicting cards." Osmos tossed back his head and laughed. "Nice try, but your just not strong enough to defeat us!" Kamishiro nodded after Osmos's statement and slid a card onto his disk.

"Now I activate my own Pot of Greed, and draw two cards." Kamishiro drew twice and slid a monster onto his disk. "Now behold Watapon ( ) which will be special summoned if drawn outside of my draw phase. Now I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Kamishiro looked to Kou.

"Watch the master!" Kou drew his card and looked at it with a smirk. "Alright, I summon Blade Knight (1600/1000) in attack mode!" Another warrior, this one wearing blue armor and a dangerous look appeared on Kou's field before him. "Then he will attack Osmos's monster!" The blue armored knight gallantly launched himself at the Grim Reaper monster.

"Hold on boy, I activate _my _set card, Reverse of Reverse, to use Shisei's final set card!" Kamishiro declared and Shisei gasped as a barrier of blue light appeared and blasted Kou's monsters away.

"No, he used my Mirror Force." Shisei fell to his knees as Kou gulped and ended his turn.

"Beautiful, then I will start my move," Osmos looked down at his deck. "By guessing the name of the card I will draw, I guess the card will be Dimensional Tunnel Mirror Gate. What do you know, I was right!" Osmos showed the odd card and Shisei found himself receiving another cut, this one directly to his neck.

Kamishiro-3600

Kou-4600

Osmos-8000

Shisei-3200

"Nice, eh?" Osmos slid another card into his disk after his comment. "Now I summon Dark Blade (1800/1500) in attack mode!" A skull warrior with the perfect armor and weaponry for himself appeared and laughed at it's master's enemies. "Now both of my monsters shall directly attack Mr. Aragashi, and I shall end my turn with this card facedown." Osmos smirked as a magic or trap card appeared on his field.

Kamishiro-3600

Kou-4600

Osmos-8000

Shisei-600

Shisei watched as another of his hand cards was cut from his hand and fell into the graveyard. "I tried, but I failed, I guess." Shisei fell to his knees with exhaustion. Kou looked at his best friend, realizing how Osmos and Kamishiro had teamed up to wipe him out.

"Sei, I won't let them win, but you have to keep fighting!" Kou declared as Shisei drew his next card with little hope. "Hold off for one more turn and make sure you have a back up plan!" Kou smiled weakly.

'Damnit, he's too exhausted to do anything good. Can you win on your own?"' Chiro asked from Kou's mind. Kou glared at Chiro for mocking Sei.

"Now I set two more cards facedown, make your move." Shisei stood up, but barely and Kamishiro drew.

"It's over for you fools!" Kamishiro slid two cards into his disk. "I activate Monster Reborn and Premature Burial! First I revive Zaborg, then I revive my Marshmallon. I sacrifice all three of my monsters now, and summon…. ANGEL OF DARK REBIRTH (2400/0)!" Kamishiro's most deadly monster appeared and he laughed as it glared down at them. "Next I play the Black Soul Sword, which allows me to sacrifice Dark attribute monsters from our side of the field and power up my Angel (2400/0)!" Kamishiro turned to Osmos and Osmos nodded and removed his monsters from the disk.

"I let him sacrifice my two monsters to finish one of you off!" Osmos said as the two beasts on his side of the field screeched upon being sliced in half by a black blade. The blade then absorbed their soul energy and flew into the hands of the Angel of Dark Rebirth (5000/0).

"As Master Osmos said, this duel will soon be over for one of you. Now behold your end! Angel of Dark Reibrth (5000/0) attack Mr. Aragashi directly!" Kamishiro's beast flew straight at Shisei who closed his eyes, waiting for the impact and his end. "IT'S OVER!" Kamishiro finished.

"SEIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Kou yelled as Shisei's LP plummeted, and his body hit the floor.

_To be Continued

* * *

_

**Next time:** The duel has heated up and the Angel of Dark Rebirth is more than powerful enough to defeat Kou and Shisei. But Osmos hasn't had a chance to show his ultimate card yet, and when the mightiest power rises, can Kou or Shisei defeat it? Find out Next time on Duel Monsters Maximum!

To Nova Flame: Oh, I always make a paper copy, the problem is whenever I sit down to type it up I get some new combo in my head and have to alter the entire duel to fulfill the cool combo at the same time as being to lazy to write the new combo in on the original copy. That always happens with Namia's Phoenix card combos.

To LucienShadowMaster: Yeah, I made a mistake, but you know what, it doesn't really matter with that card.

To John: Read the following…

The author of Duel Monsters Maximum reserves the right to edit cards for his own purpose or amusement…which is why Bitch of the Black Forest and Herpes Brother were created.


	49. Chaoslord Rises!

_Chapter 49: Chaoslord Rises!_

Shisei looked directly at the black blade as it approached and his lips curled into a smirk. "Gotcha! I activate Magic Cylinder and reflect your attack right back at your LP!" Shisei pointed to two gigantic cylindrical objects which absorbed the power from the attack with one and blasted the attack back at Kamishiro with the other.

"I activate my facedown card, Angelic Safeguard to protect me from your fool hardy move!" Kamishiro shielded himself as the force of the blast hit two angel wings which had appeared and folded around him defensively. "Then I end my turn." Kamishiro stated with a growl.

Shisei's shoulders slumped as Kou blinked away the illusion his mind had created of Shisei losing all his LP and falling to the floor. "HEY! You had me worried, why didn't you play that card sooner!" Kou asked with a glare at Shisei.

"Sorry Kou, I thought if I waited I could throw him off!" Shisei placed a hand behind his head and laughed for a moment before coughing up more blood.

"It's okay, I understand." Kou said, seeing his friend was in pain he drew and looked at the card with a smirk. "Okay, now let's play a game! I activate the magic card: Reasoning!" A man in a turban suddenly appeared with a set of eight cards facedown in front of him. "Now you pick a level star of monster, then I draw until I meet a monster. If it's the level you choose, then I just wasted a draw. But if your wrong…" Kou smirked as Kamishiro glared. "Then I can special summon the monster I draw, and I choose to target Osmos with this card!" Kou pointed a finger and the cards began to shift as Osmos closed his eyes in thought.

"I select….Level four!" Osmos yelled. Kou nodded and the fourth card began to glow as he drew.

"What do you know? First draw!" Kou looked at the card with a smirk and flipped it over so everyone could see his favorite monster. "I now summon, Total Defense Shogun (1550/2500) in attack mode!" Kou's monster was a mighty general of defense with a blade as tall as he was. He appeared on Shisei's field with his blade protecting him. "And I special summon him on my partner's field, since your guess was so off!" Kou smirked and a facedown monster appeared on his own field. "Then I set one monster in defense mode for my turn to end!" Kou stated. Osmos rolled his eyes.

"That was completely pointless, trying to save your friend from his demise. Especially because I still hold Miraculous Draw and Convulsion of Nature!" Osmos looked down at his deck slot in his duel disk, ready to declare the name of his next card. However, he soon realized that was impossible as thick black chains had ensnared his disk.

"You won't be finishing anyone off. I activated my trap card, Time Seal which stops you and your combo cold." Shisei said. eyes narrowed but he slid another card into his disk.

"Sneaky sneaky, but I'm afraid you'll have to do more than that to stop me, I activate one of my facedown cards, Stray Lambs!" his newest card brought two scapegoat like tokens, one pink and the other green. "Now I set one card facedown and end my turn." Osmos finished rather lamely.

Shisei looked at his opponent's field. Kamishiro had a powered up Angel of Dark Rebirth (5000/0). Then Osmos had two set cards and two lamb tokens (0/0) on his field. Then Kou had a set monster. Shisei took a deep breath and drew. 'Alright! Say goodbye to your beautiful combo Osmos!"' Shisei slid the card into the disk. "I'll bring forth some tokens of my own. Say hello to Scapegoat to begin my move, then I play a trap card, Blade Storm!" Osmos raised an eyebrow as thousands of blades began to circle his and Shisei's field, which was populated by four goat tokens.

"What is the meaning of- MY FIELD CARD!" Osmos was about to ask about the effect before his field card was cut from the disk and his field and all of their decks returned to normal position.

"Guess what Blade Storm does? It destroys one magic or trap card so long as I sacrifice a monster, or I could destroy one monster on your field at the cost of one magic or trap on mine. Pretty cool huh?" Shisei laughed as Osmos realized the problem with this.

"No, now if I guess wrong then _I _lose 1000!" Osmos growled as Kou punched his fist into the air with the obvious triumph.

"Looks like your strategies are falling apart." Shisei smirked and motioned for Kamishiro to draw. "You can finish your move and me and Kou will waste you next time!" Shisei finished.

Kamishiro drew and looked at the card with the most evil smirk possible. "Now it's time to heat things up, I play summon Dunames the Dark Witch (1800/1050) in attack mode on Master Osmos's field." A beautifully dressed pale skinned woman with a staff appeared before Osmos and his goats. "Now my Angel of Dark Rebirth (5000/0) will attack a Scapegoat." The dead angelic creature rushed forward and slashed a token in half with the black blade it carried. "Finally, I set one card facedown and play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Master Osmos's Miraculous Draw." Kamishiro bowed as Osmos smirked.

"Yeah, so what? You may have saved Osmos for a turn, but I'll tear into his LP soon enough!" Kou drew and Osmos laughed and pressed a trap activation card on his duel disk.

"Your very foolish to challenge us boy, we have a purpose and you don't. So behold my facedown card: Acid Trap Hole!" Kou looked at Osmos in puzzlement as his set monster was suddenly enveloped in green acid. "Now here's how it works, you flip your monster and if it's defense is 2000 or less then it goes to the graveyard. And considering the defense of most warriors, that thing will be weak enough!" Osmos tossed back his head and laughed as Kou smirked and flipped his monster.

"Nice try! Reveal…BIG SHIELD GUARDNA (100/2600)!" The giant shield that had appeared was quickly followed by a purple shirted muscular man the laughed at the acid which tried to eat through his boots.

"Your pathetic if you think your soul is worth more than mine!" Kou yelled and Shisei frowned.

"What do you mean you have a purpose?" Shisei continued.

Kou blinked and looked at his best friend in question. "What do you mean, they want to keep their souls as bad as we do, that's their purpose," then he turned to Kamishiro and Osmos suspiciously. "isn't it?" he gulped waiting for the answer as he one card and ended his turn stealthily.

Osmos's lips curled up into a cruel smirk and he slid a card into his disk. "I am willing to sacrifice my own body, my own soul to revive Master Thalius! His power will consume the world in the true Kingdom of God! Now behold one of his faithful creatures!" Osmos began and Shisei gasped.

"Your going to revive someone that wants to replace our world with what he calls Heaven, am I about right?" Shisei asked. Osmos nodded and the Shadow Realm seemed to become darker as his monster glowed bright and disappeared for a sacrifice.

"Behold _my_ mightiest monster! I sacrifice my Sheep tokens and Dunames to bring forth the Devil of White Reincarnation (2400/0) in attack mode!" The newest monster to the field was a pure white man with horns erupting from his head and long, sharp claws attached to his fingers. "This beast not only mimics the effect of Kamishiro's monster, but it also will allow us to summon the strongest beast to wipe you away!" Osmos slid two more cards into his disk.

"Umm, Sei, any bright ideas?" Kou asked he heard Chiro growl at the beast that had appeared as Osmos continued his move.

"Now I activate: Item Synthesis! This card states that I remove from play one equipment magic card on the field and take another from my deck!" Black Soul Sword blew apart and it's remnants were scattered to the depths of the Shadow Realm. "Next comes Forced Fusion!" Osmos and Kamishiro smirked at the same time as their monsters began to swirl together. "This is how it works. You both select a monster and the others are destroyed first," Shisei frowned as his Scapegoat tokens were blown to pieces. The others only had one monster on their field so they were safe. "Now your two monsters and our two monsters will be force to combine. If no fusion is possible, then your monsters will be blown apart." Osmos laughed and the two monsters on Kou and Sei's field began to wail as his and Kamishiro's spun together to form a new monster.

"Oh crap!" Shisei blocked himself as the shadows began to rumble with power.

The new monster had two long, black, extremely sharp looking wings. It wore a robe with the word "death" written in as many languages as you could think of. The body was that of a man with long spiky hair and blood red eyes. His hands were decaying claws and a spiked tail rose from his robe to his wings. "Now you shall face your defeat! I have brought to the field: God of Divine Resurrection (5000/5000) this is it for you fools!" Osmos and Kamishiro joined together in laughter as Kou smirked and Shisei slumped down in defeat.

"This is the end, is it?" Kou smirked and his monster began to stop moaning and swirled together. "Well I have a fusion too, and it's going to wipe you out! I summon to the field: Absolute Defense General: Big Shield (0/5100) in defense mode!" Kou clasped his hand together in triumph and Osmos looked at the defensive monster in horror. "Go on, try and attack, We'll stick up for each other and I can switch the control to Sei if you do!" Kou laughed and Osmos gave him a look of pure and complete loathing.

"This isn't over yet, I end my turn." Osmos looked over at Shisei, who drew more freely.

Kamishiro-3600

Kou-2600

Osmos-8000

Shisei-600

"Um, Kou, what happened to your LP?" Shisei asked worriedly. He looked over at Kou after seeing the LP score and gasped. "KOU! Are you alright!" Shisei tried to rush to his best friend but he was exhausted from the shadow game as well.

Kou coughed up some blood from the sudden decrease in LP and weakly smiled as he stood up. "I have to pay 2000 LP to keep the General (0/5100) in defense mode." Kou said and breathed deeply.

"Okay, I draw then!" Shisei did so and looked at the card with a frown. "I set this card facedown and end my turn." Shisei finished and took a huge gulp of air, nervous about Kou's decreasing LP score.

Kamishiro laughed as he drew his next card. "You fools! The power of our monster will be able to tear into your LP soon and there isn't anything you can do!" Kamishiro and Osmos both laughed hardily at the General Big Shield (0/5100).

Shisei glared. "We won't lose!" he said. Kou looked at his hand and gulped.

"Sei," he said. Shisei looked over at him. "I need one more card to finish this combo, can you hold them off until I draw it?" he asked, looking at Shisei . Shisei's eyes went wide and he gulped.

'This is it, can I hold of Osmos _and _Kamishiro at the same time?"' Shisei wondered to himself. He looked at the fearful monster on his opponent's field and nodded. "Let's finish them!" He said.

"You fools cannot defeat us, it's a complete impossibility." Kamishiro rolled his eyes and motioned for Kou to go without even placing one card down. "I have no move so I must end my turn." he stated, obviously annoyed.

Kamishiro-3600

Kou-600

Osmos-8000

Shisei-600

Kou drew with determination. 'Please, this is my…our last chance!"' Kou felt the extreme pressure as he placed his blood covered hand onto the deck slot and the next card he would draw.

'Don't forget, we'll love you even if you lose….You may not be able to tell considering our souls will be harvested like organs and thrown out into the bitterness of the Shadow Realm, but hey, who cares about details?"' Chiro smirked weakly at his counterpart.

'Thanks, no pressure huh?"' Kou couldn't help but smirk at his friend's attempt at humor at such a time. 'Pleaseeeee!"' he prayed one final time before drawing his card. He kept his eyes closed shut for a moment, but then reopened them to see the card he needed. He smirked and his field magic card slot slid open. 'Alright, if this works we've pretty much won!"'

"Kou? Are you ready?" Shisei asked. Kou nodded and the blackness around him exploded into thousands of heads of demons talking behind a veil of what looked like the insides of one very large demon.

"Yeah, and I'm about to finish this. First off, I activate the field magic card: Pandemonium! Next, I summon the Warrior of Zera (1600/1600) in attack mode!" Kou's new warrior leapt from it's card and steadied its blade with a look of evil surrounding it. "Now I sacrifice Warrior of Zera to the field magic of Pandemonium and Special Summon: Mazera Deville (2800/2300) in attack mode now its effect states you discard three cards randomly from your hand , so discard your equipment card Osmos!" The warrior was replaced by a dark demon which chose to hide itself behind the wall of Pandemonium. Osmos growled and discarded his single card. "Now here's where it gets interesting!" Kou smirked and Shisei gulped.

"You don't seem to understand what "unbeatable" means boy!" Kamishiro growled. Osmos shook his head, an amused look on his face.

"No Kamishiro, we should give these pathetic excuse for duelists a chance to win, after all, they don't have to much longer before we can tear them apart with a Kuriboh!" Kamishiro snickered as Osmos motioned for Kou to continue.

"Okay, I activate: Mystic Recycler!" Kou took an ejected card from his graveyard and shuffled it into his deck. "Now I place Warrior of Zera back into my deck and draw a card. If the card I draw is of the same type (magic, trap or monster) as the card I reshuffled, I can replay the reshuffled card!" Kou shuffled his deck and took a deep breath. He drew. Looking at the card he smiled slightly. "Oh well," he began. Osmos laughed and Shisei slumped. "I have to discard such a good _monster_ as Buster Blader!" Kou flipped the card he'd drawn around and revealed the Buster Blader. Osmos's smirk had gone crooked and Kamishiro looked like he was going to explode. "Now I summon Warrior of Zera (1600/1600) back to the field! And normally, Mystic Recycler would end my turn, but by what Sei drew…" Kou turned to his partner and Shisei pressed his trap activation button.

"I activate Sacrifice to Time and Space! Whenever a card states anything that may change the field or turn count abruptly, hence the effect of Mystic Recycler, I can tribute a monster and take direct damage equal to it's attack points in my LP to negate the effect! Say good bye, General Big Shield!" Shisei smirked as his LP score suffered no loss, but he lost his only monster defense. "Finish them, Kou!" Shisei smirked.

"Alright, now that I can finish my turn, I'll sacrifice the reborn Warrior of Zera and Special Summon… Archlord Zerato (2800/2300) in attack mode as well." Kou smirked and Shisei felt giddy, expecting Kou to discard a Light monster and activate Archlord's effect. But Kou instead removed his monsters and placed another on the disk. The being that had appeared previously was a white angelic beast and it countered the darkness well, helping the Sanctuary in the Sky. "This is it, the moment you've been waiting for! You see, when Darkness and Light converge, they create a new element, one that is complete _Chaos!_" The beasts that Kou had just summoned began to converge and mix together until they exploded in light and darkness. The new monster that emerged into the black sphere had seven long wings, a dark helmet covering it's face and armor along with. "You see, when I offer both Mazera Deville and Archlord Zerato while Temple of Chaos Magic is on the field, I can special summon… CHAOSLORD MAZERATO (4600/4000) in attack mode!"

"NO WAY!" Shisei looked at Kou's newest monster in awe. "That thing came out of a warrior deck!" he asked the air. Kou smirked and flashed the thumbs up at his best buddy.

"This is it for you! I set one card facedown and end my turn." Kou smirked and Osmos laughed.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! Is this all? That thing has 500 attack points to low to beat my God of Divine Resurrection (5000/5000). You can't possibly expect to win! Attack his monster my God!" The larger and more powerful beast on Osmos's field rushed forward with an explosion of force and power, ready to kill.

"You never stood a chance." Kamishiro shook his head sadly and Kou shielded himself behind his duel disk as the beast approached to take a chunk out of his LP and his and Shisei's last chance for the win.

_To be Continued

* * *

_

**Next time:** The final chapter is here, with the pressure rising and things getting out of hand, the entire Island is endanger as the stone Dragoon comes to life. Namia, Ryuko, Yami, Tea, Tristan, Joey, Oracle, and Shadow all must find a way to escape before the Dragoon destroys it all. But the outcome of the duel is yet to be decided. Will Kou and Shisei escape the depths of the Shadow Realm and escape the island with their friends, or will they rest eternally in the Shadows or the Ocean? You may think you know the answer, but don't get too cocky! On the Final Chapter of Duel Monsters Maximum: Dragoon Island Tournament!

To Rex: Your right. And I don't think I'll ever feel like updating again. (Jumps out window, hops on mortorcycle outside and drives away) WOOOO-HOOOO!


	50. End of Dragoon Island

_Chapter50: End of Dragoon Island_

The large amount of energy that had been emitted from Osmos and Kamshiro's God of Divine Resurrection (5000/5000) was heading straight for the Chaos lord (4600/4000). Kou smirked and activated his facedown card. "Guys like you never learn!" Suddenly, a giant chain was being tossed around by Chaos lord (5100/4000) as it's attack points went up. Osmos's eyes widened as his "God" was destroyed easily by Chaoslord. "I think you've met my Blast with Chain trap. It ups my Chaoslord's attack by 500 points!" Kou smirked.

Kamishiro-3600

Kou-600

Osmos-7900

Shisei-600

Osmos growled and slid three cards off his deck, then put them in his coat pocket. "I may remove three cards from the top of my deck from play and revive my monster," he smirked evilly as the beast returned. "but with an extra 1000 attack points!" he tossed back his head and laughed. Kou growled. "Now I set this single card facedown and end my turn." Osmos ended.

Shisei drew and looked his hand over. 'Okay, Kou's pulled his super move out of his bag, so now I'll make mine!"' Shisei looked his hand over and knew what he had to do. "I activate my Monster Reborn magic card and revive the Buster Blader (2600/2300) in attack mode on my side of the field. Think you can finish me?" Shisei hoped that Kou would be able to power up his Chaoslord enough when he was gone.

"Sei, what are you doing!" Kou looked at Shisei with a glare almost. 'He's not going to lure them so Chaoslord will survive? Is he?"' Kou thought. He desperately wanted to inform Shisei of his Chaoslord's other effect…

"I then set these last two cards facedown." Shisei ended his turn with no hand cards and the revived Buster Blader. Kamishiro drew and he smirked.

"Next turn Master Osmos will obliterate you with the God of Divine Resurrection!" Kamishiro ended his turn with nothing to protect himself. Osmos nodded as Kou drew.

"I switch my Chaoslord to defense mode and end my turn!" Kou finished lamely. Osmos smirked.

"One hit wonder, no? Oh well, it doesn't matter as you'll soon lose! Attack his Chaos lord (5100/4000) my God of Divine Resurrection (6000/6000). Oh, and did I neglect to mention he gains 1000 extra attack points upon being revived!" Osmos pointed to Kou's last defense and Shisei pressed his facedown card activation.

"I activate Negate Attack to stop your assa-" Shisei's trap had just created a whirlwind of energy that began to deflect the attack. Unfortunately, Osmos's facedown card was also pressed.

"I activate Solemn Judgment!" The trap that appeared on his field had someone, an old man dictating something and lightning strengthening his dictatorship. "This allows me to negate anything at the cost of half my LP!" Osmos laughed as his beast blew Chaoslord Mazerato (5100/4000) away. Kou's lips curled into a smirk. As did Shisei's.

Kamishiro-3600

Kou-600

Osmos-3950

Shisei-600

Kou smirked as the energy that destroyed his Chaoslord was blown right back at the God of Divine Resurrection (600/600). "HA! My monsters special ability activates, when it's destroyed every monster on your side of the field lose its attack points from their defense and attack stats!" Kou clenched his fist in triumph, now the monster was defeat able.

Shisei pressed another activation card. "And now it's time for me to show you true partnership! The reason me and Kou can't lose isn't because we want to keep our souls, but because we cannot allow your evil to spread through the world! I activate a card you gave me," Shisei's card flipped and a bolt of energy from the Temple of Chaos Magic blasted the Buster Blader….

* * *

Namia had managed to fall into a deathly silent and uneasy sleep surrounding Yami's slump to his knees once he realized he couldn't break into the shadow game. Just as she had drifted into a peaceful dreamy state, however, the darkness of the Shadow game seemed to be exploding with some odd energy. Namia sat bolt upright, Ryuko had fallen asleep under her chair and he managed to catch Joey's body, as he had never left Namia's lap.

"What was that?" he beat her to the punch but Namia was the first to gulp. Two robed figures were walking towards them, and Namia never liked men in robes after Kamishiro. And considering one wore a black one and the other wore a white one, she could understand if these two were Kamishiro's henchman. Ryuko put up his child fists and began to make hostile jabs in the air, to which the black robed man rolled his eyes as he approached Namia and Yami. Yami had wiped the tears from failure out of his eyes and stood in front of Namia now.

"You all still haven't been successful, I presume?" the tall man in the black robe asked. Namia shook her head. Something seemed familiar about the woman in the white robe…Her eyes were suddenly understanding and Namia leapt forward.

"Your Oracle! You beat Kou!" Namia realized how odd that must have sounded two seconds after she had said it and shrugged. "What are you still doing here, I figured you'd be eliminated!" Namia asked, clearly impressed.

Oracle shook her head. "No, there isn't time for questions, Osmos and Kamishiro sense their failure, you all must escape! There is a company helicopter on the roof, Shadow and I," she motioned to herself and the black robed man who was holding Ryuko back with his pinky finger. "will make sure Kouichi, Shisei, and Chiro make it out alive, you all hurry and start the helicopter, but don't leave!" Oracle said, then she and Shadow turned to the orb of black.

"Don't hesitate and don't look back, the duel has almost been won by your friends, so Mr. Wheeler will be okay by the time you return to Tokyo." Shadow finished. Namia, Yami, and Ryuko looked at each other in puzzlement, but Yami soon rushed away to retrieve Anzu and Tristan. Who were still sleeping.

"I guess we'd better go then." Namia said. Ryuko nodded and he rushed up the stairs to the roof access. The Shadow Game pulsed on as Oracle and Shadow awaited its end.

* * *

Shisei smirked as the Buster Blader was replaced by a red eyed Dark Paladin with purple markings everywhere on it's black armor. "This is from the card you gave me! Behold! By playing Dedication through Darkness and Light while the Temple of Chaos Magic is on the field, I can bring forth the Dark Paladin of Chaos (3400/2900) in attack mode!" Kou smirked as Shisei returned a magic or trap card from his graveyard to his hand. "And now my monster allows me to return a magic or trap card from my graveyard to my hand!" Shisei slipped an ejected card from his graveyard and slid it into his Magic or trap slot. "Behold, Monster Reborn once more!" Shisei watched as Chaoslord Mazerato (4600/4000) appeared on his field along.

Osmos looked at the monster stats and knew he was doomed, but Kamishiro would still have some LP if they attacked smartly. "You can't beat us both now!" Osmos laughed but Shisei shook his head and slid his final card, the one he had drawn this turn, into his disk.

"Nice work Sei." Kou said, seeing a dragon tail sprout out of all the monsters on the field.

"DNA Surgery changes all monsters on the field to Dragon , giving the Paladin of Chaos (4900/2900) an extra 1500 attack points." Shisei closed his eyes. 'Thank you, Reiko, I couldn't have done this without you."' he thought. "Chaoslord Mazerato (4600/4000) attack and destroy Osmos's God of Divine Resurrection!" The seven winged beast Shisei had brought back to life nodded and slashed through the ugly beast on it's opponents field. Osmos fell to his knees as the shadows began to absorb him. "Finally, Dark Paladin of Chaos (4900/2900) end this duel, attack Kamishiro directly!" The Paladin raised it's blade and blasted dark magic through its hand before slicing Kamishiro apart. Kou smirked as the duel ended.

Kamishiro-0

Kou-600

Osmos-0

Shisei-600

Osmos shook his head and laughed as the darkness consumed more of his body. "You don't understand at all, we still did what we needed," he began, laughing his head off insanely.

"Yeah, you lost." Shisei articulated, but he didn't feel so cool as he sounded with Osmos still smiling.

"Then tell us exactly what you did?" Chiro in his astral form asked suspiciously.

"Simple oh great and powerful Denva. Thalius knows your alive now!" Chiro's eyes went wide as Kamishiro and Osmos laughed, forever fading into the darkness of the Shadow Realm. However, one last surge of energy told them they weren't finished yet.

* * *

"AHHHHHHHH!" BAM! Kou and Shisei landed flat on their faces, hitting the groundin the midst of a raging storm. Oracle nodded to Shadow and moved forward. Kou got up slowly and Shisei followed his lead, being given his glasses by Oracle.

"It's nice you two decided to stay alive." Oracle smiled slightly. Shisei looked up at her and blinked in surprise.

"Um, who exactly are you?" he asked, then her face clicked and he stood up in realization. "You beat Kou!" he said happily. Kou growled.

"Gee, thanks for the reminder." Kou muttered and told Chiro to shut his face, as his laughter was echoing in his head. Shadow meanwhile, flew straight by them by some incredible force pushing him back. Kou looked around and gasped. He had landed in the middle of some battle field where Oracle and Shadow were holding of a giant draconic creature, it's long tail covered in rocks and it's body shifting through the waters easily. But along side the head of the beast was a black and blue helicopter that seemed to have on it…"NAMIA! That kid with Sei!" Kou said lamely, realizing the passengers. Shadow nodded and cracked his back.

"I could use some help keeping that thing away from the helicopter though." He finished with a smile at Kou. Kou nodded and his body shifted to Chiro.

"As much as the kid hates to admit it, I'm the better sword fighter!" Chiro charged forward with Shadow on his heels as Oracle made a cloud appear.

"Hop on!" she said to Shisei. Shisei nodded and climbed aboard, still exhausted by his duel. "This is going to be a bumpy ride!" Oracle's cloud rose rapidly into the sky, fighting the wind and rain and rushing towards the helicopter.

Chiro smirked as the Dragoon tried to eat him for the sixth time, but only getting dirt in it's large mouth. "This all you got?" Chiro asked, with a smirk, he unsheathed Blue Sorrow and raised it, ready to perform one of his special moves…

"Take this! MAGNUM FORCE SWORD!" He slashed the air and a blue wave of energy went flying forward. Shadow frowned at the way Chiro was handling the battle.

'He's being careless!"' Shadow thought to himself.

"ROWRRR!" The Dragoon roared in pain as its hide was cut, then it just plain blew up, the entire island began to sink under the pressure of the Dragoon's dead body.

Chiro desperately tried to lift the heavy creature, but it was no use. The Magnum Force Sword attack had left him drained, he was, after all, fighting with Kou's weakened body. Shadow rolled his eyes and grabbed Chiro from under the body of the beast.

"Let's fly!" he leapt high into the sky and landed on the cloud, which had just reached the altitude of the helicopter. Oracle, Shadow, Shisei, Chiro, and Kou all stepped from the cloud and into the helicopter. Kou had regained his body long enough for Namia to give him a tearful hug. Shisei moved aside as she attached to him. Kou looked down in surprise.

"I-I th-thought you w-were d-d-dead!" Namia sniffled and Kou patted her back awkwardly. "Don't you ever do something so stupid again!" Namia finished. Kou nodded and hugged her back. Shisei watched the remains of Dragoon Island sink to the bottom of the ocean and turned to Ryuko.

"Well, what now? I mean, I know you don't have anywhere to go." he asked the young dragon duelist. Ryuko looked down and Shisei smiled to him. "Tell you what, how about you stay with me?" he smirked. Ryuko looked up in disbelief.

"You mean…You'd actually take me in!" he asked. Shisei nodded and Ryuko's eyes became teary.

"If it's okay with my mom, anyway!" Shisei added hastily, he didn't want to get the boy's hopes up only to crush them. Ryuko didn't feel any more worried he just wiped the tears from his eyes and danced around happily until Oracle told him that would upset the plane's course. Yami had been looking down at Joey for the past minute or two before the blond actually opened his eyes.

"JOEY!" Yami bent over and smiled happily. Joey shook his head and looked up at Yugi. "Yeah, what's up Yugi?" he asked with a small cough. Tristan hit him over the head.

"What do you thinks up! You were knocked out like a light! Don't do that again!" Tristan was then in a brawling match with Joey, who seemed fully awake after the initial hit.

Shisei then turned seriously to everyone. "We've got trouble though," he began, making everyone pay close attention to him and Kou (who Namia was still holding on to.). Kou nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, basically, an evil wizard dude knows we are alive and will stop at nothing to kill us all." Kou stated. Shisei shrugged.

"That's actually not what I was talking about.…I was going to say I have a dentist appointment today." Shisei looked at Kou with a glare. "And I don't want any screw ups!" he warned. Kou nodded in complete understanding. After all, as everyone knew, Shisei Aragashi was never late. Well…almost never!

* * *

**Next time:** Talk about not pleasant! Kou, after making Shisei miss another tournament is forced to teach the blond how to swordfight. Can Kou really change Shisei from a weakling to swordsman? Find out on Duel Monsters Maximum: MiniArc 1!

A/N: Ah, its finally done! Well there you have it amidst many lack of updates I have finished my first story. I'd first like to thank K.B. Aleo for getting me involved in Yugioh stories in the first place. Then I'd also like to thank Wolfgeneral for inspiring me to write my own. Finally, I wish to thank you, the reader and all those that have reviewed. Considering I had about 1 review up until my fifth chapter (Wolfgang457). Without you guys I might not have been able to finish. And for any reviewers or just readers of my story that don't have one of their own posted, I highly recommend you post one, whether it be a Yugioh story or any other, as you've all pointed out great ways for me to improve my writing, I'm sure you can incorporate your advice into your own stories and make a great one. Sign up to today! (winks cheerily and flashes thumbs up.) Well, thank you all and please read and review my next sagas since. The next big one, Tournament of Knights, has a theory I've wanted to act on ever since the Battle City Saga came to America. Well Sayonara!


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